Hurt Spider-Man!
by Catzzyy
Summary: Collection of one shots of hurt Peter Parker, with Tony Stark and occasionally other avengers. Rated M for violence. Honestly, the ones towards the end are better because my writing style changed a LOT so if you're gonna start, start from there!
1. Chapter 1: Taken

Peter looked down from the top of the roof. He'd spent the night saving people from petty theft and even a cat from a tree, and now he was tired. He looked down and then hopped off the building to grab his bag and head home quietly. May was probably going to be home, if she wasn't already, and he didn't want to use the _'I was with Ned'_ excuse for the fourth time this week.

He unstuck his bag and put it on, which was when he heard the disturbance. A couple of men, some screams, something about a kidnapping. He got to it straight away, climbing up the side of the building and looking down to see the men, all dressed in black.

"Six against one? That's not fair!" He shot his web and swung down, knocking three out altogether, before stopping another three from shooting at him.

"Calm down, guys!" He yelled as he jumped around them and stopped them taking off. The woman who had been cornered immediately took off.

"You've got a lot to learn." A voice replied, and he instantly turned his head to see another masked man, who threw a knife his way, and he ducked but still felt a searing pain run through his body. He looked up at his shoulder to see an arrow, and a man standing on the opposite building he'd just jumped down from, holding a bow and arrow.

"An arrow? Seriously?" He blinked and felt his vision blur.

"Seriously." The man replied as Peter stumbled against the wall, trying his best to stay awake, except he couldn't even move properly.

" _Quickly_ ," someone shouted in the back, and to Peter it sounded like a bunch of echoes, one on top of the other.

* * *

May closed the door behind her as quietly as she could, lately Peter was noticing all these things, waking up every time she came home. She hung her coat on the hook, glancing at the time on her phone again. _00:13._

She sighed, muttering under her breath. The earlier she tried to get home on time, the later she was. She opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, about to go into her room.

She frowned and looked at Peter's door, going in to check if he was there. She'd been overprotective since Ben, always just peaking in before heading to her own room. It'd become habit for the fast few months now, especially with him staying out late recently.

The door was always open, and she slightly pushed it back with her foot with her water and bag in hand. No one was there. She set down her things quickly on the desk next to his door and tapped down the bed and the top bunk.

"Peter!" She yelled, checking around the door, turning off his light and then all the flat lights, running around in frenzy. "Peter! If this is a joke-" she stopped when she realised he wasn't there.

She put a hand on her forehead, breathing out shakily and calling Peter with her other hand. It rang a few times and went to voicemail, and she wanted to throw her phone at that point. Should she call the police? _No, he's fine_.

She called Ned. Maybe he forgot to text, although he never forgets, but maybe he did-

" _Ms Parker? Peter?_ " Ned answered.

"Sorry, were you sleeping? You were probably-"

" _Nope, it's Friday night, I wasn't-"_

"Is Peter with you?" She cut in, staring intensely at the door in front of her, hoping he'd walk in and say that he was mugged or something, because that was better than what as floating around in her mind.

There was hesitation, _"Peter? Um-I saw him like a few hours ago-"_

"So he's not with you? Did he say he was going somewhere? Anywhere?" She tried desperately, already planning what she'd tell the police. What would they say? She was neglecting him, maybe? She should've been home? Why-

" _I think so. He said he was, uh, you know, gonna be hanging out, uh, you know-"_

"Ned, if you know where he is, you have to tell me!"

Ned thought about it, he knew Peter was out Spider-Manning today, but maybe he got hurt. " _Have you asked Mr Stark?"_

"What? No, why would I-he said he wasn't interning there anymore." She replied, scratching her head and frowning, "I'm gonna call the police, and-"

" _You should ask Mr Stark, you know, just to be sure."_ Ned urged, because Tony was the only one who'd be able to find him or know where he could be.

"Right. Okay, thanks, Ned."

" _And tell me what happens!_ " Ned said quickly and May mumbled a _sure_ before hanging up.

She walked up to the kitchen and scrambled around the pin board, lifting up pieces of paper to find Stark's number. She ripped off old permission slips, store coupons and random papers of outdated information, before finding the scrap of paper with the number scribbled on that Peter had given her.

She stared at it for a few seconds and then entered it into her phone, calling before she could change her mind.

There were a few rings and someone picked up, " _who is this?_ "

She frowned and scoffed, "I thought this was Tony Stark's number."

"It is. Who are you?"

"May Parker. I'm Peter's-"

" _Aunt. What's wrong? Is he okay?_ "

"No. No, he didn't come home and-uh-"

" _I'll-wait a second_." The man replied, and the line cut off. She was about to scream and swear when someone else answered.

* * *

He'd been down there since five in the morning. First he couldn't sleep, then he couldn't stop tinkering. Then, he fell asleep on the table, a screwdriver a few centimetres from his hand.

" _Call transfer from Happy Hogan_." The voice echoed in the dead silent room, and Tony

"I haven't slept in like twenty-four hours, take a message." Tony grumbled, yawning, lifting his head and pushing his tools out of the way.

" _Hello_?"

He scowled at Friday, and yawned again, "you've reached the voicemail-"

"Don't bullshit me, I-"

" _That_ will be easier to do when I know who you are." He said, stretching and stumbling out of the chair. He slowly walked out of the place he'd spent the whole day in and adjusted his earpiece.

There was an angry sigh, "is Peter with you? I just-I know he said the internship was over and I didn't press him on it, but I don't know what he meant! And his friend said to call you because apparently-"

"Okay, wait a second." Peter said the internship was over? He'd be lying if he said that didn't upset him. And if Peter wasn't home, he was out in trouble. "How forgetful of me, I sent him to do...that thing." Tony said, turning instantly and going back to his workshop in a hurry.

"Really? What _thing_?" May sounded relieved, and that was all he needed right now.

"Totally. A few classified errands." Tony said without thinking, too focused on the screen in front of him.

" _What_?" She said in shock. " _Okay, well then we need to have a serious talk about the hours he-_ "

"Yep, sounds fun, I'll call you in like an hour. He's staying over with the other interns for a weekend thing, must've not told you, you know how forgetful he can be." Tony lied so quickly that it just made her more suspicious.

" _But he's safe. I mean calling me back in an hour? Why can't you just-do you know exactly where he is, right now?_ " May pressed again.

"Definitely." Tony replied, ending the call quickly with a _bye_ as his eyes scanned the screen.

"Friday, I need something here." He said, sighing when his search came up empty. "Spider-Man, anything relating to-"

" _8801 Pike Street. Disturbance with a woman shows Spider-Man time stamped at 9:34_." Friday stated, pulling up the footage in front of him.

Tony stared at the blurry backstreet video. He saw Peter swing down, the woman run and then Peter get shot by an arrow, and then collapse and get taken. He activated the suit and it came flying, sticking to him within seconds.

"Get the number plate? Of course you did." He replied to himself, making his way out. He reached the sitting area and looked around for Vision. _It's not like he's sleeping_. "Vision!" He yelled, Vision appeared nearly instantaneously, making him jump back. "You gotta stop creeping up like that." He said looking up again. "Gear up, we're going on a mission."

"Where?" Vision replied, tilting his head.

"To find someone." He stated.

* * *

There was a bump on the road that rocked the van. Peter's eyes opened quickly as soon as he regained consciousness. He was in the back of a van that was stopped, or it looked like a van, his head was hurting and he was having trouble even thinking.

"He's awake again!" A voice said.

He looked up and moved back, instantly moving his hands up in defence, surprised they were still free. Then before he had time to react, because his mind was still foggy and his whole body still hurt, he was hit with another surprise, this time in his chest.

His breath was caught in his throat, and he looked down to see blood. He gasped, finding it hard to breathe while he squinted. He couldn't focus on anything, and he was hearing _everything_.

" _-driving here in the middle of the-"_

 _"-tired and you told me we'd-"_

 _"-a stop at the gas station to-"_

 _"-and Mom said that an hour ago-"_

He slowed down his breathing and trembled, looking at his chest, covering it with both hands as the bleeding slowed down. He'd be alright. _It's just one bullet. And you're already healing-_

His hands were shaking uncontrollably, he was crying, and he couldn't focus on anything. Looking up and then around, he fidgeted, but there was no 'getting comfortable', not when you've been shot twice.

"He-hey! St-stop!" He cried, and just that took half his energy to say.

The man in front of him grimaced, "sorry, you been messin' with our business." He replied, as the van came to a stop. He couldn't stop himself from crying, he didn't even know where to hold, there was just so much blood.

One of them hopped outside, grabbing Peter's shoulders and dragging him out the van. He half-fell onto the ground and scrunched up his face in pain.

"There's a lake-" the voice faded and Peter gasped for air, he needed help. He needed _someone_ to help him.

"The lake? You mean that tiny lake opposite a billion houses-do you not have a brain?" Another one shouted, and there was more arguing and swearing, and repeated mentions of the world _child_.

There was scuffling, and then the dragging continued. Peter ended up near a dilapidated building.

"No, leave him here," there was a pause, "I got a guy."

There was a small scoff and then a humourless laugh. "You-what the hell, dude!"

"They wanted to confirm he's dead."

"What the f-he's obviously dead! Whose gonna survive that?" Someone replied hastily, and there the voices faded into the distance.

"Just cover him up with some leaves and get the hell out of here, if we get caught we're done."

Peter squinted to focus, and then there was dirt and dead leaves being brushed onto him from the floor.

"That's enough. Just-let's go-"

Peter coughed, pushing the leaves off in frustration and brushing the dirt off his face. He couldn't breathe, scratching his face as he struggled to take the mask off. He threw it aside and took a deep breath, covering his wounds with his hands and pushing himself up against a wall.

He looked down and coughed again, and this time there was blood. He stood up against the wall, nearly falling forwards, and steadied himself. Then he looked to his right, at the passing cars, and squinted, leaning back against the wall and unzipping the top red hoodie. He squirmed and it fell to the ground. He took off the gloves next, and the webbers, chucking them to the side.

* * *

The search didn't come along as well as they expected, because no one could figure out where Peter went after the fight. Going to the scene was a _stupid_ decision, as Tony had called it, because no one was there by the time they got there, over two hours later. And the numberplate had been a complete waste of time, and that irritated him even more.

"Maybe he's-"

Tony blocked him out, holding the bridge of his nose after an hour of researching dead-ends. He stared at the floor in anger, his heart beating steadily fast since he'd found out about the situation.

"Maybe the police can help." Rhodey finally suggested. Tony looked up and moved his hand away from his face.

"The police? Yeah, I'm sure they'll be-"

"It was just a suggestion. We haven't got a lot of those, if you haven't noticed." Rhodey said quietly, moving from his stiff position.

Tony ignored that comment and went back to his computer screen, his eyes tired from staring at the same screen for an hour.

"Hospital." He whispered, and Rhodey looked up from his phone. "Someone found him, let's go."

* * *

There was the faintest sound doctors talking in the background in the otherwise dead silent corridor.

He gasped when he opened his eyes, freezing in pain.

"Honey, it's-it's okay, really!" An old, comforting voice said instantly, holding his hand to stop him from flailing them around.

"I'm-" he wheezed, tears falling down the side of his face.

"Doctor, the morphine?"

"I-I don't know why he's awake." She responded, clearing her throat to reassert her authority, "Daniels, page"

The hospital receptionist walked up behind her and tapped her gently, "I'm sorry, someone's here for the boy, he-"

"That's him!" Tony yelled from behind, cutting through the confused staff and other injured people, "that's m-I need to take him."

The doctor looked past the nurse, frowning. "Take him? Sorry, he's been shot, he's a teenager and I've notified the police. You can't help him anywhere else."

"You can't help him _here_." He looked past the concerned woman and at Peter, who was trembling and squeezing his eyes shut. He took another look around the emergency room and then back at the doctor.

"What does that mean?"

"You tell me, you have a hundred people here, you're clearly short-staffed, it's a lawsuit waiting to happen." Tony nearly shouted.

The woman opened her mouth to speak but someone beat her to it, "if you can't take care of his needs, I don't see why he can't be transferred to a private facility."

Tony turned around to see an older man. The administrator? He controlled the urge to roll his eyes, "finally, someone smart."

"Mr Stark, couldn't miss your presence if I tried." He replied, signing off something and turning back to Tony. "I'm assuming you have something identifying him as a relative, or-"

"We do." Rhodey spoke from behind, and Tony was glad he did, because he hadn't thought of that. Rhodey passed on something, and that was it. There were a few nods and forced smiles, and then Peter was being rolled back out from the little corner he'd been stuffed into.

"Peter?" Tony called, hovering over him like a bee. "Kid, open your eyes." He said more adamantly.

Peter pushed his head back onto the pillow and just cried harder. He'd never been in that much pain before, and there were all these murmurs and shouting in the background that he really just wanted to ignore.

"Peter!" Tony shouted, and Rhodey looked at him in anger. Peter flinched, opening his eyes instantly. He couldn't tell if what he was seeing was real or not. "We found you, it's gonna be okay, we'll just take you back and fix you up."

Peter all but scowled, his hands flying to his stomach when he felt another pang of pain. Someone grabbed them.

"He's bleeding through the bandages." Rhodey said as matter-of-fact. Tony pushed back Peter's hair in comfort.

"Just a few minutes-"

"I got shot." Peter said between breaths. Tony kept one hand on his hair, "they-they shot me-" he screamed unexpectedly, his hands scrunching into fists.

Tony grimaced, "it hurts now, but you're gonna be fine."

"We'll take it from here." Tony gave him over to his medics and stood there outside the hospital, noticing all the little snaps of pictures being taken from all around him.

* * *

"A few days?"

"No. No, his healing factor's not working as well as we expected. He's in pain, and we're doing everything we can." Cho assured, patting Tony's shoulder before making her way down.

He sighed and brought his hand to the back of his head.

"I'll leave you two alone." Pepper said from behind. Tony had already forgotten she was there and nodded, heading inside the room.

He stared, still standing at the door. He felt more fear and anger build up than he ever had before.

Peter groaned, and Tony moved forwards in surprise. Was he supposed to be awake so soon? Peter squinted, his breaths getting faster.

"You're safe, little hero." Tony said sadly, taking a seat next to him and leaning forwards.

Peter slowly opened his eyes, his hands lightly touching the tubes around his face.

"They're to help you breathe. You're on a lot of drugs so there's some oxygen deprivation." Tony explained, grimacing . "How're you doing?"

"Good." Peter said, but it came out a lot quieter than he wanted.

"Really?" Tony asked rhetorically.

He didn't reply, just closed his eyes and turned his head, fidgeting and trying his hardest to not cry again.

"They can't give you more…found the one disadvantage to super healing, huh." Tony added when he saw. It was upsetting to see how much pain Peter was in, especially when he couldn't do anything about it.

"Yeah, we found one dish…." Peter whispered, his voice trailing off as he stared at the ceiling.

Tony waited for him to finish, sitting up in worry when he didn't. "You sleepy? You should sleep." He looked over the bed to see that his eyes were already closed. "I'll-I'll come back." He said, smiling awkwardly at the sleeping boy and getting up from the chair, nearly tripping as he stepped back.

He didn't go to sleep. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He'd left the room with guilt, and that guilt had only magnified by the time he got to the door of his room, which was why he'd turned back around and ended up in his workshop.

"The least you could've done was be in our room when I got home." Pepper said sadly, stepping down the few steps and looking at him.

He glanced at her, his head still resting on his hand on the table. "I got busy."

She walked over to him, standing opposite him and picking up the blue and red suit he had in front of him. "You couldn't have done that tomorrow?"

"It _is_ tomorrow, speaking of, where were _you_?"

"You know what I mean, it's nearly four in the morning, and I was dealing with more of the hospital mess you kinda just left behind."

"You're the best, and nope, I needed to do it now."

"Tony, if you're going all destructive-"

"I messed up." He said, running his hand down his face. "

She sighed, "I'm sure _he_ doesn't think that."

"Of course he doesn't, he's a good kid, he'd never say I made a bad-"

"Okay, how about we pack this up," she gestured to the suit and tools, "and talk about your failures as a parent later?"

"That's funny, but I was being serious."

"And I was kidding," she smiled, "kind of."

"Okay, let's go." He got up, looking at the suit one more time before following her out.

"How is he?"

"I don't know, he didn't really speak."

"That's normal though, right? Rhodey was saying they had to give him all these-anyway, he'll be fine soon." She said with certainty, brushing away her hair.

* * *

Peter woke up again around mid-day. The huge digital clock on the middle of the wall read _13:38._ He squinted at it and then laid his head back again. He could hear the beeping of the machines next to him and feel the cool air of the oxygen tubes.

He was just about ready to pull the tubes out when the door opened. True, he was definitely expecting it to be Tony. It wasn't.

"Young man, how are we doing?" The doctor in the typical white coat asked.

"Y-yeah. I'm-" he broke off into cough, "okay."

She smiled, "don't you worry, you'll be up and Spidering around in no time."

Peter froze, "uh, what? I don't…"

"I was your doctor, it didn't take long to connect the dots."

Peter didn't say anything, just stared, and it must've showed nothing but fear because she spoke instantly again.

"It's not my secret to share so that's one thing you don't have to be worried about. But on the serious side, your injuries didn't heal as quickly as you'd expect, so you're going to be taking it slow for at least a few weeks. You'll be on oxygen for a few days and-"

"Let the boy breathe, Cho." Tony interrupted from the doorway.

She smiled again, "okay, I'll leave the rest of the talking to you." She said with a reassuring undertone.

She left the room and Tony walked forwards. "You look way better than yesterday."

"What?"

"Nothing. How's it going?"

"Yep, good. The doctor lady said it'll be alright in a few weeks."

"Yeah, does it still hurt?"

"Yep."

"You know who those people were?"

"No."

"Okay, I know you're…upset, but I couldn't have seen that coming. Obviously I wouldn't have taken-"

"I'm not upset."

"How did you end up in the hospital?" Tony asked, because that was next on the unanswered list of questions.

"I…got a lift."

"A _lift?_ From who?"

"They left me near this-this building, because throwing me in a lake was a bad idea, and I took off all the Spider-Man things and went to the road and this car stopped to help and I told them to take me back to Queens, but they didn't listen."

Tony was glaring at him, mouth open and eyes wide. "A lake? Which building?" He looked away and nodded, "I was wondering where all that stuff went, how far away from the road were you?"

"What?"

"You heard."

"Why does that matter?"

"Because I said so, now answer the question."

Peter exhaled, "I don't-like fifteen minutes? I could see the cars."

"You walked for fifteen minutes?" He didn't sound worried, just really, really upset, and Peter could see that.

"No, I mean I took breaks, obviously, it wasn't that bad."

 _Obviously_. "Right. How long did it take to make those glasses?"

"Why does it _matter_ , Mr Stark?" He asked, tired of the random firing of questions.

Tony sighed again, for the fifth time during the conversation, "you ended up in a bad situation. You know, like a-a tiger that's just-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Mr Stark, because I can tell this isn't gonna make any sense."

Tony smirked, "that shouldn't have happened. Suit or not, it was a-", he nodded his head in anger.

"Don't feel bad."

Tony scoffed, "you're lying there with an oxygen tube and two bullet holes and you're telling _me_ not to feel bad."

"Can you not tell May?"

"I already said that."

"I'm gonna be here for-"

"Car accident. We'll say you got into a car accident on the way back, but nothing serious."

"What if they come after me again."

"They won't. I'll catch them long before that. No patrolling for a month, that goes without saying-"

"What? No!"

"Yes. Listen to me this time. Just listen. All I'm trying to do is keep you safe. I can't be the reason you get hurt."

Peter stared, surprised, "no, well, you wouldn't have been the reason here."

Tony smiled, "everything you've done from the point I found out about you's been on me." He said, carefully choosing his words.

"That's not true."

"It's very true. Peter, just listen to me here."

He never called Peter by the first name, and he didn't sound so scared before. "Okay. Okay, I'll stop for a month."

"Well."

"You said a month."

"We can talk about that later. New phone, new, well _upgraded_ , suit, I know where you are all the time."

" _Well_."

" _That's_ not something we're negotiating. You're fifteen, you don't need to be hiding where you are." He said quickly.

"Thanks for bringing me here." Peter said, his voice taking a more serious tone.

"Always."

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2: Poison

Chapter 2: Poison

 **Excuse any medical errors or MCU mistakes!**

* * *

"You're dealing with grownups here!" A tall bald man with a beard shouted at Peter.

"I'm a-a grownup!" Peter yelled as he webbed them all to either their van or the brick wall. He looked down from the top of the building to make sure they were all stuck before making his way down.

"You don't know what you're dealing with." One of them shouted when Peter got close to their van.

"What is this?" Peter muttered to himself when he opened the back door. He stared at the bright blue objects.

"Hey Spidey!" One of them shouted again, and Peter turned to face him but didn't have time to react when something quickly pierced his suit and hit his collarbone, making him wince as he stumbled back against the vehicle.

"What the hell!" He yelled to himself, quickly regaining his balance and shooting a web at the attacker's hand. He looked to his left to see one of the dealers with a free hand. "How'd you get free?" He turned around.

"You're messing with things beyond your understanding." The man simply said.

"Why are you here?" Peter asked, his eyes narrowing as he walked towards the man.

"I guess you'll find out." The man scoffed. One of his eyes was green and looked artificial.

"Your eye." He said simply, squinting to get a closer look.

"Too bad you won't live to see what it was." The man replied, looking away.

"What?" Peter moved back. He looked around at all of the offenders, and then texted the location to Tony like he said he would if he came stumbling upon anything "remotely weird". They'd deal with the rest, he thought, not giving the rest of this strange experience another thought.

He made his way up the wall and looked down again to make sure they wouldn't move, and then jumped over a few more buildings, climbing down the side of the building into the alleyway, grabbing his bag that he'd webbed onto the side of a trash bin. He looked around him when he heard something move, putting it off as an animal or something, jumping when his phone started buzzing in his pocket.

"Hey, May-"

" _Don't 'hey, May' me, you're late, again!"_ She yelled through the phone, and he squinted, pulling the phone away from his ears. It seemed louder than usual.

"Yeah, I was just-"

" _Hanging with Ned?_ "

"Yeah." He replied, putting on his jeans and hoodie on top of his suit while trying to listen out for anyone coming who could see him _and_ keep the conversation going with May.

" _I called him. And guess what was going through my head when he said you weren't there. Peter. Take a guess._ "

"Right...May, because, you know, I _was_ with Ned for like five minutes afterschool, then I got called to the internship and-"

" _The internship that you lost?"_

"Uhh-yeah-then I got back and-long story, which I will explain to you when I get home." He closed the door to his flat behind him and then listened out for any noise out in the corridors. Nothing. He put his hood on and threw a web to the fourth floor. "Shit" He whispered when he nearly flung into the wall. Rookie mistake.

" _What was that? And how long are you-"_ she paused, " _hang on."_

Peter gave an awkward smile when May opened the door with the phone to her ear. She frowned and sighed, ending the call.

"Very funny." She said, making her way back to the living room as Peter followed.

"I'm okay. I just forgot to call you." He explained, throwing his bag on the sofa and opening the fridge.

"You always forget to call. Do you realise how worried I get? What if something..." her voice trailed off in sadness.

Peter closed the fridge with a water bottle in hand, putting it on the counter and turning to face his worried Aunt. "May, I'm okay." He smiled, gently holding her arm.

"I don't always know that. And I _need_ to always know that." She paused and tilted her head. "And are you wearing a red turtleneck under there-" she touched the red fabric that was showing under his hoodie, and he dodged her, moving down and moving her hand away.

"May, stop! Look, I'm really sorry, and I promise I'll call next time." He smiled, closing his eyes and falling back against the counter when a dizzy spell hit.

"Hey, you okay?" May moved in instantly and helped him stand.

"Yeah, dehydration probably." He grabbed the water bottle and waved it. She didn't seem convinced but nodded, moving out the way to let him go to his room.

"Take care of yourself, for my sake at least." She told him as he walked away, and he mumbled a "yeah".

He closed his door behind him and practically collapsed onto the bed, keeping the lights closed. He was getting a headache, and that confused him, because he didn't think that was possible after his whole powers thing. He squinted and turned his face to bury it in a pillow.

* * *

The buzzing of his phone in his pocket woke him up instantly. He shuffled, feeling hot from the layers he was wearing, and took the phone out.

He didn't have time to speak when he heard Tony cut in, " _I've been calling for an hour. Where are you?"_ He asked, obviously seriously annoyed.

"What? It's like-" he got up, closing his eyes when he looked at the bright phone screen, "only 4:46, I was sleeping!" He answered in his defence, sitting up against the wall.

" _Peter."_ It was a sympathetic tone, and that worried him. He waited for Tony to continue. " _It's your Aunt May_."

"What about her? She's here, should I get her and-"

" _She died. Last night we got a –"_

"What are you-what the hell? What's this..." he mumbled, his heart rate increasing as he jumped out of his bed and flung open his door, and then hers. And it was empty. All he could hear was the phone in his hand and someone shouting through it. "Where is she _?"_ His voice broke as he stared at the empty bed.

" _She's with us. Sorry, I'm coming to get you-"_

Peter jerked awake, nearly gasping for air. He could feel tears coming, and his heart was thudding against his chest. He waited for a few seconds, scratching near his neck as he grabbed his phone from the same pocket that he did in his nightmare. _4am_. Sighing shakily, he got up and nearly tripped over his shoes before turning on the light. It was dark outside, and the streets were empty.

His headache was creeping back in, and he was having trouble focusing. He sat back down on the edge of his bed. The sick feeling was also back, and this time it was accompanied by pain near his collar-bone that he'd been scratching at. He moved his head so that he could see the mirror, and pulled down his hoodie and suit from the side slightly. There were black veins moving outwards, and his eyes widened as he jumped back. He immediately stood up and went closer to the mirror to take a closer look.

"What..." he said to himself, touching his skin. It was nearing his neck. He thought back to the fight in the alley and the wound, then mentally cursed himself for not being careful enough.

He sat down again, phone in hand. The only person he _could_ call was Tony, because no one else would know what to do. But it was 5am, and not that he found it awkward, but waking someone up to tell them about your spider-veins _was_ an awkward thought. He thought about it for a few seconds and then dialled the number.

* * *

"Priority call from Peter Parker." An automated voice announced as the rooms dimmed lights turned on.

"Peter." Tony said in an irritated tone as sighed. "Accept."

" _Mr-Mr Stark? Is that you? Or-"_

"You called me, who were you expecting to answer?"

" _Yeah."_ He laughed nervously.

"Ok Spider, it's 4am, you wanna tell me why you're calling?" Tony cut to it, keeping his voice low when he saw Pepper asleep on the sofa with papers all over her and the floor.

" _Um, well. Remember the weird blue things you guys got yesterday?"_

 _"_ Yes. What about them?"

" _I think it hit me, and there's these-these weird black veiny things near my neck-"_

 _"_ It hit you? Did it also knock out your brain? Why didn't you tell me when it happened?"

" _I thought it was just a cut, and I didn't even know it was from them!"_ Peter defended himself.

"Ok, well? You're calling this early, what did it do?" Tony asked.

" _I had a really bad-like mega headache last night, then I had a nightmare and now my neck and head both hurt. And the guy...he told me I won't 'live to see' what happens and I ignored it because-"_

 _"_ Because you're an idiot!" Tony yelled as loud as he could without waking Pepper up, making his way out the room and closing the door behind him as he made his way to the main space. "Come down here." He stated, bringing up the files to his work, "on second thought, Vision's coming to get you." He finished, finding the stuff on last night.

"I am?" Vision asked, standing right behind Tony within seconds, who jumped.

"Don't do that!" Tony glared at Vision, who confusedly stepped backwards. "I need you to go get Peter, please." He continued, handing him the address and giving a little smile at the end.

"Yes. But it's my understanding that you don't even know what those items were. How can you expect to know to help him without knowing?" Vision asked.

"Vision, those are questions to be asked later down the road. Let's get him here first." Tony said, his eyes pointing to the paper.

"I know his address." Vision replied, crumpling up the piece of paper and disappearing almost instantly as Tony frowned.

* * *

 **8 am**

"You spent a whole four hours on it, how can you not be _anywhere_ with it yet?" Tony almost yelled, frowning as he practically pushed aside one of the tired scientists and grabbing hold of the microscope. He looked up at the clock for the hundredth time.

"It's lethal. That's all we know, and it's practically impossible to come up with a cure without the right elements." Jacobs, one of the team leaders, responded.

"Lethal. Great. Great progress, guys." He sarcastically commented, nodding and freezing when he looked up to see Peter with Vision. A _scared_ Peter. He looked to Vision and made a "why is he _here_ " face, and Vision uncomfortably opened his mouth to speak and then looked down.

"I'm gonna die?" Peter asked, his voice masked with fear.

"No." Tony replied immediately. "You're not dying. We have time, and you're supposed to be with the doctors." He said, looking over to him.

Peter nodded and sighed, looking around at his surroundings. Tony observed him, because he was shiftier than usual and was looking really paranoid. Then he jumped when Vision tapped his shoulder, taking a seat on one of the chairs.

Peter was listening intently to everything everyone was saying, and the lack of hope was making him feel worse. He closed his eyes and felt something in his throat, starting to cough. He looked at his shaking hand in panic, which had spots of blood on it, and then looked over to Tony, who was already looking at him with extreme concern across his face.

"Test it." He turned away and vaguely pointed to the table. Jacobs grabbed a cotton bud and got to work. Peter started coughing again, which got Tony to come over.

"You okay?" Tony asked worriedly, and Peter looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked more tired than ever, but he nodded, sniffing. "That a cold?"

"No. I don't think so. It only started like an hour ago." Peter answered, and Tony just nodded in response. There was a short silence before he spoke again. "Mr Stark. If-if you don't know what it is." He stopped and his eyes watered while he fiddled with his fingers.

"I said we'll figure it out." Tony refused to let him continue.

"Yeah but-" he stopped, and sighed and looked down at the table, "could this kill me?" He finally asked, looking up to Tony, who was staring back with a distressed look.

"Yes." He said bluntly, "but you're forgetting that I have the team of the best scientists and doctors there is, so the chances of that happening are low. And you're talking to the man who literally invented a new element to save himself, so there's nothing I'm not gonna try to do the same for you." He looked at Peter.

"Okay. And could you call-" He started, cut off by a bloody cough. "Call May at 9 and tell her I'm here? She'll be worried and I promised her yesterday...I don't want her here, but..." his sentence faded away and Tony nodded, more concerned about the cough than May at that moment.

"I'll call her. Don't worry about that." He lightly squeezed Peter's shoulder before making his way over to Jacobs. "That's progress." Tony pointed to some messy scribbles on the piece of paper in front of the scientist, who looked up.

"So now you're a biologist?" Jacobs smiled, and Tony laughed a little. "We've got a little more to go on. His blood changed since the last time we tested it. Hopefully we'll get something else before his condition deteriorates."

"Peter?" Vision called, tilting his head. Tony looked over to Peter as well, who was resting his head on the table on his arms. "Peter." Vision said again, next to him. "You're bleeding, Peter." He said, and Tony quickly walked over.

"Hey, Peter, let me see." Tony said, crouching down a little.

Peter didn't respond, and Tony looked up at Vision, who paged the doctors.

"Be careful." Jacobs said, standing behind Tony.

"His heart rate is steady, but his breathing seems uneven." Vision added.

Tony held Peter's head with one hand and his chest with the other, slowly lifting his head off the table. "Get me something, it's a nosebleed!" Tony yelled, grabbing the towel from Vision and stemming the blood. "Why is he unconscious?" He asked, while three doctors rushed in and took hold of him.

"Steady pulse, he's having difficulty breathing - BP is 180/110" One of the doctors said, while the others came in with more equipment. Within seconds, he was out of the room.

"That was unexpected." Vision stated when they left. Tony looked over at the blood on the table and immediately turned away, scratching the back of his head.

* * *

Tony had been by Peter's side since his collapse an hour ago, and Pepper had joined soon after. They both sat on either side of the bed, and hadn't spoken much throughout the period.

"Tony, he'll be okay." She said finally, he'd had the same depressed face on since he sat down.

He looked up at her. "What if he's not? What if-and I haven't even told May anything about this yet, I said he's working, what a lie, 'working', sure he's -"

"Tony, stop-"

"But what do I tell her if he-Pepper, if he...May should be here..." he stopped and held his forehead with one hand.

She stood up and walked over to him, tapping his shoulder for comfort. "You have to believe he'll be fine. I mean, he has _you_ looking out for him." She smiled and he just stared at Peter. "I'm gonna go check the lab."

"You have that important meeting today." He stated when she got up.

"I'll reschedule." She said, brushing her hand over his hair as she walked behind his chair.

"Are you sure? You said it was-"

"Tony. I'll reschedule." She repeated, walking out the door.

He looked to his left as she passed him and closed his eyes in despair. He should've tested the objects. He should've asked Peter if he got hit, he should know by then that Peter wouldn't have said anything unless he asked. Why didn't he ask?

Peter groaned, and Tony looked up instantly, getting up and hovering over him. "Peter." He said quietly. He looked horrible. He was on a ventilator, and he was begin to shiver. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah." He said, and it was clear he was having difficulty talking. "My chest." He stated, squinting and grabbing the ventilator.

Tony grabbed his hand "That's there to help! It's helping, you nearly-" Tony cut himself off from saying the word. "I'll find a way to save you." He said, his eyes red.

"Ok." Peter whispered. He stared at the ceiling with a frown and clear discomfort.

Tony noticed. "You're a superhuman, there's not much I can give you to help with the pain." He explained, and Peter nodded. "

Tony sat back down, and about ten minutes passed in silence, before Peter moved. His eyes were shut tightly and he clawed at his neck, wincing in pain.

"What's wrong?" Tony stood up to take a look.

"I-I don't know." Peter replied, "it hurts, a lot." He squinted again and there were tears in his eyes. He pushed his head back into the pillow and practically screamed. "My head! It's-" he brought up his hands to his head and held on tightly.

"It's-" Tony was cut off by a stream of doctors that came in. He clenched his jaw, moving backwards while watching them fiddle around with the machines and his ventilator until there was nothing.

"Is he alright?" A voice startled Tony and he turned to see Vision.

"Ye-no. No. I-I don't know." He said, stopping himself from talking before he started crying. And he wasn't going to do that in front of all these people.

Vision looked around uncomfortably, unsure of what to say or do in the situation. "Tony-"

"I have to go-I have to do something. Important, I...yeah I'll be-I'll be back," he vaguely pointed to the door and made his way out while Vision watched.

He walked into the main room and looked around. The sun was up and it was lighter, which dramatically changed the atmosphere which had been depressing and dull just hours before. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a glass, pouring himself some water and taking a sip. He put the glass down on the counter and stared at the black marble top for a few seconds, clenching his jaw and closing his eyes. A minute passed, and he threw the glass aside, sending it smashing on the floor with a loud crash.

He looked over at the broken pieces and then leaned against the counter. They hadn't made much progress, and Peter was only getting worse.

He was about to head back to the lab when he heard something coming from the back exit. "Rhodey!" He called. He'd gone out an hour ago to find anything he could on the objects. He stared towards the direction for a few more seconds before heading towards it, his iron bracelet ready to go.

He frowned, letting go of his bracelet when he saw the guard on the floor and Natasha in the doorway with the door wide open. His eyes narrowed and he lightly scoffed.

"Tony." She stated, picking up her baton and tucking it away before standing up straight.

Tony looked down at his guard again, and then to her. "How'd you get in?" He asked.

She scoffed, "you know full well I can get in wherever I want."

"Yeah-" he gave a sarcastic laugh, "sure. Is that what you're here to do? Show off? Because I haven't got time for games. And aren't you supposed to be chilling on some island – rumours and all?" His voice came off harsher than he intended, and she looked away from him in clear discomfort.

"I'm not the villain here." She stated, walking over to him.

"Ok, stop right there." He lifted up his hand and she stopped. "You told me I needed to watch my back, and that's what I'm doing."

"Don't twist my words." She said, "I know about your Spider boy-"

"Spider-Man." He corrected, and she looked up in slight annoyance and confusion. "He likes to be called Spider-Man. No one calls him 'Spider-Boy', don't you read the news?." He finished.

"That's not...not the point. I have some information on what he was attacked by."

He nodded and scratched the back of his head, "did you have him targeted." He asked, and she immediately scoffed and nodded her head.

"Seriously?"

"Well, Steve tried to kill him last time. Maybe you did something and now you feel-"

"I'm not Steve and that's not even what happened." She said, and sighed, "look, I've been following these guys for a few months now. I have what you need to cure him, I saw that they do."

"You have what I need, of course you do." Tony repeated with sarcasm. "What's the price."

"No price." She broke the gaze again, "we're still on the same side. He's a child."

"No. We're not, and I don't think we ever were."

"You can't say that, we've gone through too much together. You brought Peter-"

"Are you trying to guilt-trip me?" He tilted his head and she clenched her jaw.

"Is that what you think I-"

"-because I've got a dying kid in there, whose relying on me to save him when I don't think I can. So it'll be easy for you-"

"Tony!" She nearly yelled, looking around herself when she did. "Take it. Why can't you just take it? Consider it good faith." She nodded in disappointment, bending down and rolling a small vial towards him.

Tony stared at the tiny bottle and looked up at Natasha, who was already walking out the door. "Good faith." He repeated, and she kept walking. "I can't ever tell when you're being serious. Or maybe I'm not the only one feeling guilty." He said a little louder, and she stopped.

"Maybe your right." She replied, her back to Tony as she slightly turned her head to her left, before walking out.

He watched her leave, and then bent down to pick up the vial, shaking it a little. It was a clear liquid, and there wasn't a lot of it. He looked up again and the door was wide open - she was gone.

He walked, or _power-_ walked towards the labs, when Pepper appeared down the hall.

"Tony-he stopped breathing." She told him – fear all over her face.

He stopped walking, his eyes widening. "Is he-is he...", he couldn't even say it.

"He's alive. They said-"

"I don't need to hear what they said." Tony replied at the risk of sounding uncaring. He left Pepper standing and turned to the left towards the labs, as much as he wanted to see her and Peter.

He entered the labs where the scientists were still discussing and arguing. "I've got what you need." He stated, and they looked up collectively.

"Got what we need? What is that?" Jacobs asked when Tony lifted up the tiny tube.

"Someone dropped it off. Test it." He said, carefully handing it to him. Jacobs nodded and got to work.

Tony leaned against the table for a few minutes, waiting to hear the update. This was their last chance. He was about to go check on Peter when the scientist 'corner' cheered.

"We got it, Stark!" One of them yelled, and Tony sighed in relief, smiling for a second and leaning back. For the fist time in hours he didn't feel that feeling of something weighing him down.

* * *

"So, like 4 hours?" Tony asked.

"No! I-I don't know, Tony! I can't give you a time, I told you. I mean he's a fast healer, it won't be long. He'll be perfect when he does wake up." The doctor explained.

He nodded, "right. Right, so probably a day at most-"

"Seriously?"

"No? So a few hours, then! Great, that's all I'm asking, Lyla-"

"Yes. Okay? _Probably_ a few hours, I can't believe you sometimes." Lyla sighed, walking out from under the room's door frame with her clipboard in hand. Tony grinned as he watched her leave and then looked inside the room. He didn't really want to go in.

"He's okay now." Pepper said from behind, and he turned around to see her walking towards him. "Go in." She said, or _ordered_.

He turned back towards the room and walked in, Peter's mask in his right hand. He sat down on the chair and pulled in closer next to the bed. He leaned his arm on the side of the chair and covered the lower half of his face with his hand, closing his eyes.

* * *

"Tony." A voice said, and his elbow slipped off the rest and her jerked awake. "He's waking up." Tony looked up to see Pepper smiling at Peter. Tony looked to him to see Peter's face scrunched up.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked, fidgeting in the chair.

"Like 4 hours-Tony I'll be back, I have-"

"Pepper!" Rhodey yelled from outside the room somewhere. "Pepper there's-oh great-now I'm-Pepper!", he shouted again, and Pepper practically rolled her eyes while Tony looked out the door in confusion. She muttered under her breath and made her way out.

"Yeah I told you I'm coming, Rhodey, this is it? No..." her voice trailed off as she left, and he could here the two of them arguing about something.

He turned back to Peter. "Feeling okay?"

"Hmmm." Was all Peter 'said', his eyes fluttering. "I'm okay." He said, taking off the breathing mask and breathing properly for the first time in ages. "Oh sh-did you tell May? She's gonna kill me-"

"Easy! I told her, she thinks you're working." Tony reassured him.

"I should've told her, Mr Stark, I mean what would she have done if I...if I died?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as he sat up in the bed.

"You didn't."

"I could've, you don't know-"

"But you didn't. You don't have to worry about it, because you know-it didn't happen." Tony replied, throwing Peter his mask.

Peter caught it and looked at it, gently setting it aside. "Ok, yeah, I guess you're right there." He said then looked up at Tony like he'd said something he shouldn't have said, "not that you're ever wrong, no, you're usually always right, in fact I can't think of a time with me-"

"Okay, that's enough talking." Tony laughed.

"Right. Listen, Mr Stark, thank you for-"

"Saving your life is the one thing you don't need to thank me for. Now go put your aunt at ease." Tony said, and Peter smiled and nodded, slipping out of the bed and grabbing his hoodie from the chair next to it. He zipped up and smiled, before shooting a web out of the room window and swinging out.

"I'll see ya." Tony said as he left. He smiled and made his way out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3: Fall

**Thank you all so much for the reviews and follows! - based on the comment prompt (kinda).**

* * *

"It's just as good!" Peter yelled in his defence as he walked side by side with Ned down the street.

"No it's not! That one was like a hundred times better!" Ned argued, pulling his backpack up when they reached a crossing.

"Well, it's gone and my one will have to do. And I don't see what the big deal is, I used it before I met Mr Stark, and it was doing fine." Peter replied, walking when the cars stopped.

"I shouldn't have helped you mess with it. Those protocols were there for a reason, Peter. " Ned explained, looking over to his friend, who nodded in sadness.

"I guess. I don't know. I mean-"

A loud crash disrupted their conversation, and both Peter and Ned looked to their left to see people running and screaming towards them.

"What the hell." Peter said to himself, taking a few steps towards the street.

"Peter! Stop!" Ned yelled, "look at that thing!"

Peter dodged quickly to avoid a fast metal arrow. "Where is it coming from?" He yelled, stopping one of the screaming pedestrians.

"Some psychopath's shooting at people and destroying the buildings! He's crazy, come on!" She yelled, tugging at his arm in her direction and running past him.

"I have to see!" Peter turned to Ned, who nodded in discontent.

"No, you don't _have_ to see! Look at that thing!" Ned yelled, and Peter turned to see a man covered in metal armour with the exception of his face, which was covered with a mask.

"I have to – just-here-" Peter threw his bag and jacket to Ned, who caught it in surprise, "-and run, go somewhere safe."

"What about you?" Ned said, taking a step backwards.

"If I'm one of the only ones who can stop him, I have to try." Peter said, furrowing his brows before disappearing into an alley nearby. Ned looked back at the metal arrow-man, and then back towards the alley. Within seconds, Peter was swinging up towards the target, and Ned nodded his head and ran opposite to him to avoid danger.

Peter reached the top of the building and looked ahead to see the man standing on the building opposite. He dodged another arrow while the sirens blared under them.

"Spider-Man." The man shouted from across the gap. "You think you can stop me?" He asked, shooting another arrow at a shop, which soon exploded, sending glass everywhere.

"I don't know." Peter responded, "but you have to know you'll get caught, so why-", another arrow came his way, and he nearly fell backwards, shooting an arrow at the opposite building wall to get back on his feet.

"Test drive. Destruction." The man replied, "and call me Green." He tilted his head; pointing his hand to the roof Peter was standing on and soon enough, the roof crumbled within seconds.

"What the hell!" Peter said again, flying to the opposite wall and practically hanging under Green, who would've cut him off if he hadn't swung to another building.

"That wasn't an arrow!" He yelled, looking around the corner to see Green attacking other buildings.

"There's a lot about me you don't know, Spider-boy", Green said, and Peter rolled his eyes at the last two words.

"You have laser vision, or something?" Peter asked, shooting a web at his leg and sending him tumbling backwards, but he quickly cut the webbing off and threw something Peter's way, making him gasp and practically stick himself against the wall to avoid getting hit.

"It's far too big for you to understand – stick to saving cats in trees," Green yelled back, shooting something with his bow as soon as Peter emerged from behind the corner, sending him flying back into the shadows.

Peter grabbed his chest and his eyes widened as he tried to hold onto something, eventually hanging off a balcony. He took a breath of air after what felt like an hour and looked at his hands. There was no blood, but that hurt like hell.

* * *

"-prototype works, because then within a week, I'll have you-"

"Spider-Man." Rhodey interrupted.

"No-", Tony laughed, "you can't be Spider-Man, Rhodey, think with your-"

"He's on the news- your protégé", Rhodey said, staring at the muted TV.

Tony instantly turned his chair with the solder in his hand, "Unmute the TV!" He yelled at his AI's.

"-attacking buildings and people. The supposed neighbourhood Spider-Man can be seen fighting with the metal-covered figure on top of the apartment buildings as they both move north onto taller buildings, causing destruction as they go along, with other forces unable to intervene or match their powers." The newswoman concluded as the footage covered the screen. Peter was struggling.

"His webbing's off." Tony stated, setting the solder down and grabbing the metal hand he'd been working.

"You can tell?" Rhodey squinted, rolling his chair closer to the TV. "I can't-" he turned to face Tony, who was long gone. "Great."

* * *

Peter swung up the building in sight of Green, who shot an arrow towards him. He dodged to his left and instinctively moved his hands in front of him when he saw another one coming his way.

"That's your mistake." Green yelled, standing on the roof opposite as the arrow pierced Peter's stomach and he fell backwards with a yell. "Always. You always dodge left." He laughed, "it makes you predictable." He threw a rope with something attached at the end of it, swinging across to the other roof.

Peter scrambled to the edge of the rood, one hand holding the arrow in his stomach. He swung to the wall of the other building and criss-crossed his way down and away from his attacker, who was on his tail and cutting every one of his strings of webbing right behind him.

"You weren't hard to-" he shot an arrow that exploded just ahead of Peter's next landing, "-take down." Green said, running along the edge just above Peter.

"I'm not tryna kill you, dude!" Peter hollered, turning right when he reached the end of the gap between the two buildings.

"Well, I am!" Green replied, jumping across to the other building.

He practically swung into the balcony, his head hitting the top. He webbed ahead and found one with a garden umbrella and ducked down under it, sitting against the glass while trying not to make a noise. He glanced up to see if he could see Green, which he couldn't. His hands were trembling, and he held onto the arrow as tightly as he could with both hands, closing his eyes and yanking it out. He almost screamed and covered his mouth with his right hand to stop himself.

"You'll heal. You're healing. Healing." He said quietly to himself as he smacked his head back into the glass door and clenched his jaw to control his breathing and stop himself from crying. He closed his eyes and was about to get up when something smashed above him and glass shards began falling, and Peter quickly jumped across onto the other balcony.

"Need help, Spidey?" A voice asked, startling Peter, who shot a web in front of him looked up to see Iron Man hovering in front of him. "It's just me, calm down." He reassured him, looking up and blasting at something above them, and then taking off the webbing stuck to the chest.

"Mr Stark-what-what are you-"

"Come on." Tony grabbed Peter's hand and lifted him up to the roof. "Web him from-" he stopped and inspected him, "you're hurt." He said.

Peter moved to dodge another arrow, "it's healed-nearly healed."

"Let me deal with this, kid, I'll take you-" Tony was cut off by an arrow that struck him between the two metal shoulder plates and sent him flying backwards. Peter looked back and was about to step backwards from the edge when something hit him in the head and sent him falling over the edge.

Tony regained his balance in time to see Peter fall but flew in the opposite direction when something exploded next to him. "Peter!" He yelled, shielding himself with his arms and trying to get to him, which was extremely difficult to do when he was being attacked every second and his mind was all focused on Peter and not Green. " _Sir, he has around five seconds before he hits the ground",_ Friday said as soon as Tony saw Peter fall..

Peter woke up just two seconds later and gasped, flailing his arms and screaming. He tried shooting a web to a building but it wasn't working _. I'm gonna die._ He needed to stop. He tried again and struggled to focus on his vision. All he could see was his hands in front of him and brown from the apartment buildings and sometimes the road, which was nearing. He looked up at the sky and then to his right to the building, which he was close to. He painstakingly smacked his hand onto the glass, which stuck on and stopped him mid-way through the fall, and he swore under his breath, breathing loudly.

Tony watched him stop and sighed in relief, focusing on Green, who was intent on going after Peter.

Peter looked up and was about to smash the window in to get to safety when his hand slipped. _3 seconds_. His head was starting to hurt from all the turning and twisting, and he was having difficulty coordinating his hands now. _2 seconds._ He could hear Tony call his name, and caught a glimpse of people looking up at him from the streets. _1 second_.

Tony blasted at Green and used all his power to accelerate to Peter. " _Even with full power-"_

 _"_ Don't tell me what I _can't_ do, Friday, get me closer!" Tony yelled, cutting off his AI as he flew head-first towards Peter. "Peter! My hand!" He yelled at the last second. He knew he wasn't going to get him in time. He was trying to take his hand, but he couldn't. He felt his hand just scrape Peter's before the boy hit the ground with a thud. Tony was right next to him, landing on his feet and bending down next to him.

"Vital-"

" _No pulse. Sorry, sir."_ Friday informed with regret. _"There's a head injury and bleeding and several broken bones and fractures."_

Tony looked down at Peter and stumbled backwards, unable to control his own breathing. "Charge-charge to-" he stammered, bringing a hand up to his head when his mask opened and looking around as he felt his heart thud against his chest, "-I can't..."

"-he looks dead!" He heard someone yell from down the group of reporters and residents huddled at the end of the street, and he opened his mask

" _Sir, now or never."_ Friday urged, and Tony got up, charging his hand and shocking Peter's chest. _"No pulse."_ Friday responded, and so Tony tried again, and again and repeated until the fifth time, when there was finally a heartbeat.

"Where did he go?" Tony asked, looking up at the buildings with one hand on Peter's chest.

" _He seems to have gone off my radar."_ Friday replied, and Tony looked back down at Peter. Blood was pooling around his head.

* * *

"Doctors! I need-someone-doctors!" Tony yelled, kicking the door down with Peter in his arms.

Rhodey nearly fell of his chair at the sound of that, and looked up at Tony, who was passing him. "Shi-Tony-is he..." his voice trailed off.

"He was. He will be, again, if I don't get any damn doctors in here! Is this what I pay for? So that..." Tony yelled, his voice getting louder with every word as he made his way towards the labs. His voice disappeared down the corridor as Rhodey looked on, grabbing his crutches from the side of the table.

By the time Rhodey made it down there, Tony was standing outside the door in his suit, clenching his metal fist while looking at the door. Rhodey looked down and sighed, before walking closer and carefully taking a seat on one of the chairs.

"Really gonna make me walk all the way down here without telling me anything?" Rhodey tried to make light of the dire situation, but Tony just closed his eyes and Rhodey could tell he was about to breakdown. "Do I have to say this? Tony, this isn't your fault."

"You can say that. You're not the one who killed him." Tony shot back, and Rhodey grimaced.

"Jeez-Tony! You didn't kill him-that-that psycho did." He nodded his head and watched Tony scoff as he said what he said.

"I didn't? I took the suit. I shouldn't have taken it-I-I knew he wasn't gonna stop but I still-" he scowled and brought up his fist to punch something,

"Tony! Stop it, stop what you're doing and take that thing off before you hurt someone or yourself." Rhodey said, getting his crutches before Tony stopped him.

"Okay, okay." He replied, stepping out of the suit and running his hand over his face. "I screwed up." He stated, taking a seat next to Rhodey.

"No you didn't. You couldn't have known, Tony. This isn't on you." He tried to say, but it looked like the man was just ignoring everything he was saying.

"I _should've_. I never consider the...consequences." Tony responded, "and people I care about get hurt and-"

"Are we still talking about Spider?" Rhodey interrupted, raising his brows and leaning his head against the wall. "We're not." He answered himself after a few seconds of silence.

"I could've-"

"We're not doing this." Rhodey cut him off harshly, and he watched Tony mutter something under his breath and clench his jaw. "We're not gonna sit here and wallow-"

"I'm not wallowing-"

"Yes you are. You think they're sitting there-it doesn't matter. Let it go, Tony, we're doing good-"

"Let it go? Like _you_ let it go? You got paralysed, Rhodes, so tell me exactly I'm supposed to forget all that and move on." Tony snapped, staring furiously at Rhodey.

Rhodey glared back in frenzy, and then exhaled, "I didn't say forget-"

"I don't wanna talk about this."

"No, you wanna keep it bottled up until you can't, then punch a few things and go rogue or-"

"I thought-I thought _we weren't doing this_." Tony interrupted sarcastically, also leaning his head against the wall and staring at the wall ahead of him. _You're wrong_ , he wants to say, because he wants a chance to explain why moving on and 'forgetting' isn't an option. Because this feeling of waiting for something horrible to happen, but not knowing what, is something that eats at him everyday but he can't explain what or who he's waiting for. It's all tied to that day.

"Tony." Rhodey broke into his thoughts and watched as Tony ignored him, his eyes still fixated on the wall. "Tony!" Rhodey said a little louder.

"What?" Tony yelled back, looking at him in annoyance.

"He'll be fine." Rhodey changed the subject back to Peter. "Maybe I'll even see whose under that-"

"You'll see when he's ready for you to see." Tony said in a monotone voice.

* * *

"Well I'm not a doctor, in case you forgot." Tony said, earning a glare from Rhodey and Pepper.

"Sorry." The doctor apologised, and Pepper rolled her eyes at Tony, "I mean he probably won't be able to move when he wakes up and-"

"He has enhanced healing." Tony interrupted, genuinely concerned.

"I know, but it's nowhere near as high to be able to recover so quickly from injuries that could kill a person twice. His chest-"

"I don't need these technicalities, just tell me straight." Tony cut her off again.

Pepper breathed out and looked at him in irritation. "Tony-"

"No, I wanna know if he's alright, or-"

"He fell of a 30-storey building, Stark." The doctor said bluntly. "I'm saying he'll have a little trouble getting back to normal." She looked down at her clipboard and then to Pepper.

"Ok, thank you." Pepper smiled, leading the doctor away and nodding _no_ to Tony, who was about to speak up and say something again.

"Ok then, um-where's-where's Vision?" Tony asked, vaguely looking around in his state of restlessness.

"He's handling something for me." Rhodey replied, and then looked over to Pepper, who was standing behind Tony making gestures. He reached out for his crutches, "come on, let's-"

"What was that?" Tony broke in, and he wildly pointed to both of them.

"What was what?" Pepper smiled with pursed lips, moving in front of him.

"Your-I saw that whole-", he moved his finger back and forth to mimic the exchange and then sighed. "I don't know what...", his sentence trailed off and he brought up his hand to his face.

Pepper took his hand and looked up at him. "Hey, _see_ him first, at least." She smiled, looking into his eyes for a few seconds. "We're all here, no one's going anywhere."

He nodded and opened his mouth to say something, and then changed his mind and broke away from her. "What would I do without you." He finally said, turning to the door and exhaled, looking down and then opening the door.

* * *

"-but that's not important-well it's _important_ , because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't-the point was that he told me to go home and he help and he gave his life to make sure I got out." Tony squinted, looking at Peter breathing through the machine. "He didn't even know me." He moved positions and leaned his arm on the side of the chair. "I haven't told anyone that. And I'm running out of stories, so wake up."

Peter groaned, turning his head and slowly opening his head. He instantly started yanking at the tubes and Tony got up.

"Hey, wait a second," Tony moved forwards and gently grabbed his hands. "You good?"

Peter nodded slightly and managed a " _hmmm_ ", before scrunching up his face and bringing his hand up to his side. He grimaced and tried to move. "Wh-where...", he trailed off.

"In the New Facility. You fell so don't try and move." Tony explained, frowning at the sight of the elevated heart rate. "Peter, calm down."

"Calm-calm down. I'm-I'm calm. May-"

"I called her. Told her you were in an accident-"

"You told her?" Peter yelled as loud as he could in surprise. May was going to kill him.

"Relax, Spidey, I said you got injured in that whole...chaos." Tony sat down on the chair and moved it closer to him.

"Why? I'll heal-"

"You fell 30 stories. Doctor said you might have trouble moving so how long were you planning on keeping that a secret from her? You _live_ with her." Tony interrupted with a little sarcasm as he watched Peter sigh in disappointment.

"She's gonna be so mad, then she'll start crying and...", he stopped and stared worriedly at the painting on the wall opposite him with his hand on his head.

Tony glanced out the window before speaking, "she'll be more worried than mad."

"-to see him! In fact, I'm the _only_ person who should-Peter!" May yelled walking into his room with Vision standing behind her. "Oh my g-you scared me to death." She kept her eyes on him, and Tony instantly got up from his chair and patted his shirt with his hand.

"Sorry." Peter said, and she was standing over him within a few seconds, and Tony backed away towards the door.

"Ned told me you were there and then I couldn't get you on the phone, Peter, I can't-I'm so glad you're okay. Tell me what happened." May started, and Tony quietly left the room to avoid getting sucked into the family drama, and because they needed to be alone. He'd be okay.

He closed the door quietly and turned around and jumped back at the sight of his suit. "Come on, big guy." He said quietly, and walked towards his workshop with the suit following him.

Pepper looked up from the kitchen and nearly jumped. "I will never get used to that." She motioned to the walking suit and Tony smirked, "it's like two of you." She said, putting down a glass of water on the counter.

"Friday, take it to the workshop." Tony ordered, and the armour continued walking north. He watched it go out of sight and then looked to Pepper. "He's fifteen. He'll probably have nightmares." He dropped onto the sofa and rested his head back.

"Probably, you can help each other. How are _you_ doing?" She asked, making her way over to him.

He stiffened, "I'm not the one who died, so fine."

"Really? You're doing fine?" She questioned sarcastically.

"I am, I'm-"

"You know what I mean. After New York, and then-", she stopped herself, because she knew he didn't like talking about it. "This." She sighed.

"I'm fine." He stated.

"You're fine. Right. Why do you have to do this?" The tone of her voice rose a little and there was clear anger.

He closed his eyes and he could see it. Barely missing Peter's hand. "Why do I do this?" He repeated, almost mocking her, and she was about to leave. "I missed him by a second. I touched his hand but I wasn't fast enough. Then he stopped breathing and I-I couldn't move, Pepper." He said softly, opening his eyes again and staring at the ceiling.

"He's okay now." She said quickly.

"What if he's not? What if a few days later we find out-"

"You're being paranoid. He's alive and doing great, probably arguing with his aunt right now." She laughed a little, and he smiled briefly.

"Yeah, okay."

She got up and looked at him, "you're going to be checking up on him after this, so you'll know if something's actually wrong, Tony."

He lifted his head up and grinned, "that's true. I'm totally gonna be doing that."


	4. Chapter 4: Aftermath

**Based on Shoyzz's comment because I was thinking of doing a part 2 but wasn't sure if I had enough to write – it's shorter than the usual and is just a little on Peter coping with the accident (no major hurt) – the reviews are all lovely, thank you!**

* * *

The alarm woke her up. She moved and fidgeted around in her bed until she finally decided to get up, putting her feet down and moaning. It was still dark outside. She walked to her door and quietly opened it, making her way to Peter's.

"He'll be there." She told herself, slowly turning the handle and opening it a little, before flinging it open when she saw he wasn't. "Peter." She whispered, closing her eyes in anger. She nodded her head and took a seat on his bed, grabbing a lego piece he'd been working on with Ned and fiddling with it.

She waited. Waited for about an hour before he came through the door of his room and almost gasped and fell backwards.

"May! What are you-this is my room!" He yelled like a child, limping in and plopping down next to her.

"That's what you're concerned about? No. Don't answer that." She said, bringing up her hand when he opened his mouth to reply. "Where the hell were you?" He opened his mouth again and then looked down in shame. "It's the middle-it's 3am! Peter." She scolded, not mentioning she'd set an alarm just to check up on him. "You could've been stabbed in some back alley, jeez-I-what-", she paused and looked at him. "What were you thinking?"

"Sorry." Is all he said, keeping his head down.

"Where are your crutches? You're supposed to be...doing so many things you're not doing at the moment!" She shouted, softening her stance when she saw how upset he looked. "What's going on, Peter?" She asked quietly.

"I'm just...I'm tired and I'm angry." He nearly whispered, and she put her arm around him and pulled him towards her. He rested his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Of what? Honey, you're doing great, you're recovering-"

He moves his head in discontent when she says that, "it's not enough, May. I feel like-like I'm losing out on so many things and then I can't sleep. I close my eyes and-" he breathes out in fear and she tightens her grip on him, "-I see things I don't want to see." He finished, clenching his fist tightly.

"You're having nightmares?" She interpreted, trying to move so that she could see his face.

"Yeah, I guess." He replied, keeping his head rested against her shoulder. "I'm just outside for some air, promise."

"Why didn't you say?" She frowned, "you know what, we'll go to a doctor tomorrow and-"

He shot up from his position, ignoring the pain in his head and back "I'm not seeing a shrink!" He yelled, fear flashing across his face.

She laughed humourlessly, "you're 15, it's not gonna impact you in any negative way, Peter." She explained, trying to understand why he wouldn't listen to her.

"No, I'm not seeing those child psychologists. May-May promise me. I told you this because you're my aunt and-and friend, promise me you won't make me-"

"Okay, okay. I promise. We won't see anyone. Just talk to me at least and, and wake me up when you have a nightmare no matter what time it is." She offered, holding his hand. She squinted and looked away as if in a daydream, "or what about those baby monitors! They're-"

"May." He cut her off, and she sighed.

"Ok. But if it's still bothering you...", she trailed off when she saw him frown, "one problem at a time." She smiled, getting up from his bed and kissing his forehead. "Just tell me, please." She pleaded, and Peter nodded and mumbled an "okay". She ran her hand through his hair and then left the room.

He watched her leave and then fell back onto his bed, putting his hand on his head and closing his eyes. Great. He looked at the ceiling at the laser-projected time. 3:43, and he was wide awake. He reached for his pillowcase and grabbed his suit, then webbed the door to stop May coming in just in case she did. She was being unpredictable the last few days, and he knew it was just because she was worried. He put the mask on and stared at the ceiling again.

"Karen."

"Yes, Peter?" The AI replied, and he tried to smile a little.

"I can't sleep." He stated. He knew he might not get proper advice, or whether Karen would even understand the problems he was about to share, but he needed to talk to someone, and it couldn't be May, and he didn't have a lot of superhero friends who could understand what he was talking about.

"It is 3:45, Peter, I suggest going to bed at an earlier time."

"That's not the issue, Karen, I'm having...dreams."

"What kind of dreams?"

"Bad ones. When I fell of that building." He paused, "how do you slee-nevermind, you don't sleep, because you're not-or do you? I don't know-what do you-like do you just wait?" He rambled on.

"No, I do not sleep. I am not human; therefore I do not need sleep to function. I'm there when you're there."

Peter sighed, "right. Right, I knew that. It's simple, pretty simple..."

"If you knew, why did you ask?" She replied, and Peter frowned from under the mask.

He squinted his eyes and moved up on the bed, kicking his shoes off. "I don't know." He replied, lying flat on his back. "How long until I heal?" He asked, feeling a shooting pain in his back when he moved.

"I would estimate two weeks. You did fracture your skull, are you in pain right now?" She asked, and a few medical statistics appeared in front of him.

"Yeah."

"Avoid stress." She said, and he scoffed, grabbing the mask and nearly ripping it off. He threw it on the floor and pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt tears coming and turned and buried his head into a pillow. " _Avoid stress_." He repeated mockingly in a muffled voice, and soon fell asleep.

 **5 hours later**

"-Peter!" A voice yelled from somewhere far. He was falling. It wasn't Blackman do he could himself disappear.

He woke up sweating, with May hovering over him. She sighed when he opened his eyes and pulled him in for a hug while he fidgeted and tried to break free.

"Were you camping outside my room?" He said in a light and joking tone, and she lightly hit his shoulder.

"Funny, Peter." She said, "you were screaming." She explained, and he looked away uncomfortably and felt the tears.

"It was just-it was a dream." He said, his voice wavering.

"What did you see?" She asked, deeply concerned as she sat by him.

"May-"

"Don't say nothing." She said, and she looked like she was about to start crying. "You're seeing all these terrible things, and I don't know what it is because you won't even tell me what happened properly." She complained, and while she was trying to avoid asking him to explain what happened when he was clearly very upset about it, she felt out of the loop. She couldn't help without knowing.

"Please don't cry, May." He held her hands and looked at her, "I was falling somewhere really dark and...", he faded off,and she nodded. It wasn't a lot, but it was a start.

"It's been three days since you came home. I don't want you going downhill-"

"I'm not going downhill. I'm fine!"

"Is there anything you need?" She offered.

"Actually, yeah." He said in a serious tone, and she tensed up. "I need to get ready for school-" he laughed, and she grabbed his pillow and hit him with it, "-ouch, May, sorry!" He chuckled.

* * *

"-and you weren't paying attention-like you're not paying right now!" Ned whined, looking at a dazed Peter, who stopped and looked at him.

"I was-I am. I just-I'm fine, Ned." He said, smiling briefly, and then continuing to walk with his crutches.

"Okay, but why are you walking home? I thought May was picking you up until you can walk. And it's 7pm, is she okay with that?" Ned asked, pushing and adjusting his and Peter's bags on his shoulders.

"I said I wanted to walk, and she's trying to not make me angry, I guess." He answered, contemplating whether he should've stuck to the offer. No, but then she'd have leave early just for him. He counter-argued himself in his head and then went back to reality, looking at Ned ramble on about something to do with MJ.

"-like 'you're so weird' and I said 'like you're so normal yourself, MJ.', anyway then she started asking about you and-oh wo-shi-", Ned's eyes widened and he stopped walking, and Peter looked at him.

"What? Ned!" He looked to where Ned was looking and saw Tony sitting on a wooden crate with the Iron Man suit opened and standing next to him.

"You wanna-you know, take another route today?" He said to Ned, who gaped back and nodded.

"Yeah-yeah, yeah. Umm, yeah-nice to meet you, Mr Stark." He said excitedly, "can I-can I take a picture real quick?" He asked, squinting and waiting in anticipation for the answer.

"No, because you're leaving." Peter cut in, frowning and directing it at Tony, who controlled his urge to roll his eyes and looked back to Ned. " _Sure_ ", he smiled.

Peter watched them take a picture, and then Ned leave, come back and drop Peter's bag, then leave again talking about how this was the 'best day ever'.

"How'd you find me? I'm not wearing the suit-did you put a tracker in me-"

"First of all, no, creepy. And second, you'd have to be an idiot to walk the backway in the dark with a broken leg and back problems, oh wait." He remarked, and Peter rolled his eyes. Tony looked at the crutch and squinted, "I can upgrade that." He said, his eyes motioning the crutches.

Peter exhaled, and forced a smile, "Mr Stark, I'm fine, you don't have to worry."

"Is that why you haven't moved since you saw me? Does it hurt? Because two days ago you told me you could nearly walk and I couldn't see through the phone so I took your word. Was I wrong?" He asked a little harshly, standing up in front of his suit.

"You said it would take time, and now you're angry that it's...taking time?" Peter retaliated, loosening his hold on his crutches and standing. He wasn't moving so it was fine. "And it's not broken, it's just a little damaged."

"Very funny, Parker. I'll walk with you." He said, motioning Peter to go.

"Are you crazy? Someone's gonna see and next thing you know they'll figure out who I am!" Peter exclaimed, his mouth open in shock.

"Calm down, Cinderella, no one's gonna see anything."

Peter nodded his head and looked around, "how can you be sure, what if someone takes a picture from their apartment or-"

"You're interning for me, it's not hard to explain the situation." Tony threw out his argument and signalled for him to walk.

Peter sighed, "did you...you know, talk to May, by any chance?" He asked, making his way down the alley behind Tony and in front of the Friday-controlled Iron Man suit.

Tony slowed down so they were side by side and looked at him, "May? Why would I talk to her?" He questioned, and he watched Peter nod.

"Nothing, I thought she-nevermind." He brushed it aside. "Why are we walking home together?" He changed the subject.

"Told you, I'm checking up on you." Tony replied simply, his hands in his pocket as he looked around the neighbourhood. "You didn't tell me you couldn't sleep." He stated, frowning and turning his head to look at Peter.

Peter looked back in surprise, "if you didn't talk to May, how did you know that?" He asked, scowling and clenching his jaw. He'd run right now if he could.

"Doesn't matter. I can help with the situation." Tony offered.

"I don't-" he began and his right crutch slipped on the uneven surface, falling from under his hands. He stopped and stared at it for a few seconds.

"I'll get it." Tony said immediately, but Peter wasn't listening. He stared in anger and then threw his other crutch, stumbling backwards and bringing his hands up to his head. "Peter." Tony said, trying to get him to snap out of it.

"I just-I-" he mumbled, his breathing becoming louder and faster. "I hate this." He snapped, leaning back against a wall and falling to the floor with tears in his eyes.

"Peter, calm down." Tony bent down next to him. It was a panic attack and he recognised it immediately. "Hey, look at me and focus on my breathing."

" _Focus_? I can't focus!" He yelled back, tightly gripping his head with his hands in panic. "This is-I need to leave." His voice broke, and he threw a web at the wall opposite him and flung away from Tony within seconds.

"Peter! Hey!" Tony yelled as the boy criss-crossed down the alley and then disappeared onto one of the roofs. He exhaled and looked down at the crutches.

" _Sir, we can follow him, he can't get far._ " Friday suggested in the suit, stepping forwards.

"I think he's trying not to be followed." Tony replied, sighing and stepping into the suit.

" _He'll get hurt_."

"He won't."

* * *

Peter sat on the edge of the roof of his own apartment building, slightly swaying his legs back and forth in the air.

"Done?" A voice interrupted, and Peter jumped and cursed under his breath.

"I could've fallen off!" Peter yelled, and Tony hovered in front of him and then sat next to him.

"You wouldn't have." He replied, handing Peter a churro. "You like them." He stated instead of asking, and Peter laughed a little, taking it.

"You eat churro's?" Peter asked, taking a bite.

Tony turned his head, "no, _you_ eat churro's." He stated, "but they're not terribly bad."

"Right, right." Peter laughed.

"That was risky. Flying around without your suit." Tony said, and Peter exhaled as his smile disappeared, moving backwards in defence.

"Like you've never done anything risky?" Peter countered, and Tony frowned at the uncharacteristic reply.

"Well I'm an adult, and you're twelve." Tony replied, and Peter scoffed.

"I might not be an _adult_ but you don't have to treat me like I'm a-"

"Like you're a child? Of course I do, because contrary to what you think, you're not mature, Peter, you don't do well under pressure, this isn't a movie where-"

" _Mature_? You're the one shouting at me and all I did was come to my roof-"

"You know exactly why I'm shouting, and this isn't it." Tony snapped, and he mentally cursed himself for trailing way off the subject. He was supposed to be helping Peter, that was the reason he came.

"You want me to stop taking risks, Mr Stark?" Peter looked down at the ground with tears in his eyes, and Tony sighed at the sight.

He put a hand on Peter's shoulder, "that's not what I meant."

"I hurt myself, and I hurt May even worse. All that me fighting that guy did was get myself killed, literally, and I didn't even stop him!" Peter yelled, and now that he was saying exactly what Tony wanted, Tony scrunched his face and nodded in discontent.

"That's-yeah but not like-", he brushed his hand over his face while Peter watched him in confusion, "there's a reason I took the suit." He finally said.

"Well, you can have it back... _again_."

"I don't need it back. We both made mistakes, but the reason I'm here is because I know this isn't gonna stop you." Tony explained, jumping off the ledge into mid air and then landing on the floor behind Peter.

Peter watched him, and slowly turned himself to see Tony standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to say something then just looked down at his shoes, like a child being told off.

Tony looked at him and carried on, "these things happen. You have nightmares, you feel like you can't talk to people but the moment you let that take over your life, is the moment people out there-" he vaguely waved his hand over the other buildings and city, "-will start doubting you." He stepped out of the suit and stood in front of Peter like he was scolding a young child, which technically he was, and then sat next to him.

"Ok."

"If eating churro's, talking to Karen in the middle of the night-"

"-what-how did you-"

"-or jumping around roofs in your suit, also in the middle of the night, is what you need, then it's what you need." Tony shrugged his shoulders.

"Tonight was the only night you'll see me-"

"Yes it is. Because what you don't need is pictures you don't want of you gliding around without your suit, or of you webbing people's hands to stop them seeing you." Tony said, and Peter's eyes widened at the last sentence. _One time. How did he even see that?_

"It just-it threw me off." Peter said.

"I know. And that happens, no need to go and overreact." Tony smirked, and Peter laughed a little.

"Thanks, Mr Stark."

"Alright, now can we go?" Tony got off the ledge and helped Peter up. "I'll get you fixed up." He frowned, and Peter nodded.

"That...sounds good." He smiled, scratching the back of his head.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, this is based on the prompt by Nindragon and takes place straight after the post credit scene in CW. Also excuse any spelling mistakes - my laptop's broken and the next few chapters will be from my tablet.**

* * *

"Can you shut the door?" Peter asked, and May pulled the handle towards herself as she made her way out.

Peter watched her leave, then put the ice-pack down next to him, squinting his eyes and watching the projected laser on the ceiling. "Cool." He whispered, fiddling with it until it turned off. He leaned back against his pillow and grabbed his phone.

" _Where were you!?"_ Ned's message popped up first - in fact, they were _all_ from him. Then there were a few game notifications and he rolled his eyes. He swiped left on the message and told him he was at the internship, signing and throwing his phone aside.

"Do you want something to eat?" May yelled from outside.

"No!" Peter answered, looking at the wall ahead of him and squinting. He was starting to get a headache. A bad one. He ran his head through his hair and winced. "What the hell." He whispered to himself, he went back to the spot and felt something hard in his hair. He rubbed the strands between his fingers and then looked at his finger. There were red spots. Blood? He was bleeding? He went back to his head and tried finding the cut - didn't seem like much. He laid his hand down and sighed, pressing the home button on his phone. _9:18. A good time as any time to go bed,_ he thought.

* * *

"Peter! I've been calling to you for the past ten minutes!" May yelled, flinging open his door and stomping in. "Unbelievable." She muttered, opening his curtains then pulling his duvet from the corner.

"What-ouch!" Peter shrieked, covering his face from the light and burying his face into the pillow.

"What is wrong with you?" She nodded her head, moving to his side and touching the side of his forehead. "You're a little hot." She said quietly to herself.

"My head's about to explode." He mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.

"No it won't." She assured him, "and is that-that's blood!" She nearly screamed, holding the side of his head and moving closer to inspect the injury. "That's dry blood." She said again in shock.

He moved his hand and waved it on top of his head to move May. "It's nothing." He said, trying to pull the blanket up again.

"You could have injured-"

"May-"

"No. Was it-was it 'Steve and his friend'?" May asked, patting his head over the blanket.

"I guess." He replied, fidgeting a little.

"Do you want me to-"

"No, May." He said. "It's just a headache."

"Peter, its bleeding!" She argued, trying to take a better look.

"No it's not. It stopped-I checked! There's hardly a mark." Peter said innocently from under the pillow.

"Peter-"

"May! Please!"

"Fine, I'll get you a Tylenol." She smiled in sadness, reaching over the bed to close the curtains and then getting up to leave.

"Okay." He murmured with a yawn.

May looked at him sympathetically before making her way to the kitchen. She opened the cabinet and grabbed the little tub of tablets. She stared at it for a few seconds and then leaned against the counter, looking at Peter's door and then closing her eyes. "What are you doing, May?" She whispered to herself. What if she was going about things all wrong? Should she more concerned about what was going on?

She looked up at his door again, taking her phone off the counter. She opened up the schools number and texted that he wouldn't be in. "Here, take these." She said as she reached his room.

Peter turned around and lifted the duvet to reveal his face. She handed him the tablets and bent down to have a look.

"Your eyes are red." She stated, feeling his forehead again.

He took the tablets and covered his face again. She frowned, listening to him fumble with the tub under the blanket. "Some sleep and I'll be fine." He said, and within a few seconds, he stuck out his hand with the tub in his hand.

She took it and put it on the floor. "It's here-under your bed. I told you to move the desk closer, you know how much easier it would be?" She looked around and picked up some of his shirts, "and would it hurt to just put the dirty stuff in the basket? I have to come in here-"

"Mayyy," he whined, "my head!" He reminded her.

"You sound a little hazy. Peter, I think the hospital would be a good idea. You-"

"No!" He hollered, "I can't go there." He countered, and she rolled her eyes.

"Any particular reason? Because I'm your aunt and I decide." She argued, listening to him groan in discontent.

"Yes, because it's _just_ a headache." He justified, "and I'm gonna...sleep", he said in between a yawn.

She nodded and got up with his shirts in hand, walking out of the room with the door open. No one was home anyway.

"I'm going to work, call me if you get worse." She said, putting on her coat and grabbing her bag. She went back to his room and put her bag on the side table, "actually I'll stay." She announced.

"No you won't." He demanded, "I'll call." He added sleepily.

"Ok, just promise you will." She insisted, and he hummed a 'yes' in response. "Okay, I'll see you at 9? I'll get off an hour early." She told him, taking her bag and making her way out.

* * *

"Why not?" Tony asked, typing away on his phone.

"His aunt called him in sick." Happy replied, tapping away on the tablet.

"Sick? He was fine yesterday." Tony put his phone down and frowned and tried to remember back to last night.

"He's fifteen. Teenagers are always bunking school." Happy replied in his usual know-it-all tone, and Tony nodded in disagreement.

"No, not Peter. This is the kid who built his suit _and_ the webbing himself. Have you not met him?" Tony asked sarcastically, and Happy rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying-"

"Because you're not very good at observations and-"

"You want me to check up on him?" Happy interrupted, and they both stopped walking.

Tony turned to him, "no. I'll do it." He said, "just pick up if I call, if you've figured out how-"

"You're hilarious, and that was _one_ time." Happy replied in irritation.

"It was _two_ times, actually, I remember because a very important meeting ended up _not_ meeting because _someone_ -"

"Are we still on that?" Happy interrupted, and Tony looked at him in annoyance.

"Oh, funny, was that-that a joke?" Tony smirked as they reached the entrance. "Okay, I'll be back." He said as the automatic doors opened.

He unlocked his car and took a seat. "The things you make me do." He said to himself as he drove out the facility.

Time flew by - he pulled up outside Peter's apartment block within fifteen minutes, "seriously, no parking? Where-Friday!" He yelled.

" _At the next left_ -"

"Right, the next left." He looked up the street. That was a long left. He looked to his right and pulled in outside one of the driveways.

 _"Sir, I wouldn't recommend_ -"

"And I thank you, for the recommendation." He interrupted, getting out and locking the car. He crossed the street and entered the building.

"Oh-", a woman called out and he turned to see an lady with a bag on the floor in front of her and she clearly struggled to hold onto four more.

He looked up then back to her, "you-" he cleared his throat, "you need some help with that?" He asked, and she looked up.

"I would." She smiled in hesitation. "10th floor." She said.

"I'm going there too." He smiled briefly as he picked up her bag and took another two off of her and pressed the up button on the elevator. "I've never seen you before." She said as they entered.

"I'm just here to see my...um-uh intern. He works for me." Tony replied as they both uncomfortably waited. The doors finally opened and they both got out.

"Well, thanks." She said, taking her stuff from him and walking the opposite direction.

He watched her go and then looked to Peter's door. He knocked and waited a few seconds, and then knocked again. "Peter!" He yelled, his left hand in his pocket. He looked under the doormat, then on top of the door frame. Nothing. He looked back down at the floorboard. There was a small crack near the door. He smirked, "smart", putting his fingers through and pulling the metal feeling object until he took it out.

He brushed the key against his coat with a scowl, and then jammed it into the keyhole. He turned it and the door opened. "Peter?" He called again, making his way into his room, which was open.

"Would it kill you to answer the door" He said again when he saw Peter under the duvet. He moved closer and slowly lifted it off to reveal Peter's face and one of his hands facing towards him. "Peter?" He asked again.

Peter was shivering - he still had the headache, and he was somewhere between asleep and awake. He jerked when someone lifted the duvet from over his head and gasped.

"Easy, it's just me." Tony said, looming over him as he grabbed Peter's hand when he lifted it to hit him. It was shaking, _a lot_. Peter moaned in pain and his eyes were shut. Tony laid his hand down and saw Peter's phone light up from another message.

He picked it up - it was May. _Call me! I told u to call_. Then a few more from her, and then one from Ned complaining about not getting a call back, then the missed calls from him. He put it in his pocket and looked back at Peter as he bent down next to him. "Peter, can you move?" He asked.

"No." He said slowly, "I...", he trailed off.

"Is the light hurting your eyes?" He questioned, because it shouldn't be. The curtains were already closed and there was hardly any in the room, but Peter replied with a "hmmm".

"Come on, we're getting you checked out, and we'll talk about how stupid it was to not call me when you're better." Tony concluded, standing up and tugging at the duvet. "Peter." He said in a stern tone. "Can you move?" He bent down again - a little more concerned.

"No-no I can't move-ever again." Peter replied.

Tony exhaled, "now's not the time to be a pessimist, Parker."

"Go away." Peter mumbled from under there like a small child.

"You're not well. Listen to me, you have to move." Tony said in a softer tone as he put his hand on Peter's shoulder.

"I can't-can't move." He said again, with more pain in his voice. Tony pursed his lips, this was more serious than he thought.

"Okay." Tony muttered, running his hand down his face as he looked around for an idea.

Peter felt like he was in an illusion; he couldn't see straight, Iron Man was in his room, and his head was spinning. He could hear his heart thud against his chest and how loud his breathing was.

"I want May." Peter finally said with a raspy voice, about to cry. He should've asked her to stay.

Tony breathed out, "I know, but she's not here and I'm the next best thing." He said with a little humour to lighten the dire situation.

Peter moved his arm and pressed his hand against the sides of his head. "I'm gonna throw up." He said, and Tony quickly grabbed the trash can.

He waited a minute, and then put it back. "Okay. We'll wrap-", he walked outside and grabbed May's scarf off the coat rack right outside Peter's room and came back inside "this around your eyes and you just lean against me and I'll basically drag you to the car." Tony offered, bending down again. "It's the best I can do." He added, waiting for a response.

"No." Peter replied in a small voice.

Tony sat down on the chair. "I can get the suit." He offered. "But you're always telling me you don't want attention. I can say my intern got sick-"

"No!" Peter yelled, "I'll go." He said, taking his arms out from under the duvet and lifting his hand and up to his head.

Tony stood up and helped Peter, "see, it's not hard." Peter was slow. Really slow. Tony wrapped the scarf around him and helped him stand, and Peter nearly fell forwards if Tony hadn't caught him. He grabbed a cap hanging off the top corner of the bunk bed and put it on Peter's head. "Perfect."

* * *

"Help me!" Tony yelled as he shut the car door. He went to the other side and helped Peter out.

"You guys playing piñata?" Happy asked, squinting while Vision appeared and helped take Peter inside.

"The better question is, why are _you_ dressed like a super-secret bodyguard?" Tony asked, and Happy took out his earpiece he was motioning to.

"Waiting for your call." He justified, and Tony nodded with a smirk.

"But why does he have this over his eyes?" Vision questioned as they took him in.

"Friday, lights out, I want it dark." Tony ordered when they reached the living room, and all the lights went out. There were the smallest rays coming from the few windows near the top.

"He has a migraine, or something." Tony replied as they started walking down the labs. He reached the medical room and opened the door. "Something's wrong with him." Tony motioned to a blindfolded Peter. The doctors looked up and nodded, taking hold of him.

"We'll wait outside." Happy looked to Tony, who didn't want to move.

"Why?" Vision asked, innocently looking to them both.

"Because it's-it's what you do." Happy argued, and Vision looked at him in confusion.

"Ok, big guy, let's go." Tony tapped Vision, who followed them out.

Happy closed the door behind them. Vision disappeared almost instantly and Tony walked out to the living room as the lights turned on. His pocket buzzed and he reached in and took out Peter's phone. May was calling.

" _Peter! I've been-_ "

"May, it's me, Tony Stark." He cut in, and he heard her swear.

" _Why the hell do you have my nephew's phone?_ " She nearly shouted in outrage.

"He's not well. He's here-"

" _Here? Where's 'here'? How did you even-why are you with him?_ " She yelled, trying to fit all her questions in.

"He called me." Tony lied with confidence.

" _He_ _called_ _you? Really?_ " She scoffed, a little sadness showing in her tone.

"May-"

" _Where is he? Give him the phone right now-_ "

"He's getting checked out. I can send a car-"

" _I don't need a car, I have a car._ " She interrupted, " _just tell me the address._ " She demanded.

* * *

 **1 hour later**

They'd argued and justified and now were all sitting outside the room in a depressed state. Pepper had arrived shortly after May and joined them.

"He is not well." Vision appeared through the wall, and everyone jumped.

"Vision." Tony said in a 'telling off' tone.

"Did he just walk through the wall?" May asked, looking at Vision closely.

"He's a-a robot-robot human." Tony stammered, then looking up at him.

"Peter had a subarachnoid haemorrhage." Vision said, and May's eyes widened.

"And that means?" Pepper asked, watching Tony freeze.

"A bleed in the brain following a traumatic brain injury or spontaneously, but a cut in the skull indicates it is the former. That is what the doctors said." Vision finished, watching the group in front of him fall apart.

"A bleed in the-", she choked and put her hands on her face as she cried into them.

Pepper was about to speak when the doors opened. "We have to operate." The doctor said, her foot in the door.

May nodded, "if it's gonna save him," she cried, resting her head on her hand again.

As soon as the doctor disappeared May shook her head in disbelief. "This is my fault." She said between cries, and Tony closed his eyes.

"Miss Parker-"

"No. He told me he got into a fight." She looked away again, "he told me some kid-Steve and his damn friend-they hit him. I didn't-I should've taken him last night." She sniffled. "Thank you." She looked to Tony.

Tony stared back with bloodshot eyes and tears. He looked down at the floor and suddenly stood up and walked away.

"Tony!" Pepper called after him, looking back at the group and then running after him. "Hey!" She yelled, her heels ticking as she tried to catch up to him.

He walked into the living room and stopped, breathing heavily.

"Is this a panic attack?" She said softly as she grabbed his shoulder.

"This is _my_ fault. It's not hers!" He nearly shouted, and Pepper quickly looked down the corridor to see if anyone was coming.

"Tony-"

"No. I forced him to come. He-"

"You said he loved it and he wanted to!" Pepper yelled in defence.

"That shouldn't matter! He's fifteen, who cares what _he_ wants? I took him there, if anything happens, that's on me!" Tony hollered.

Pepper looked down. "Maybe." She said, "or maybe that's just the price that comes with being superheroes." She continued.

"I dragged him into this."

"He would've ended up in trouble one way or another. The difference is that he had you looking out for him now." She told him, "wouldn't you rather he gets in trouble when he has a support system?" She said, waving her hand to motion to the facility.

"How do you that." He frowned, facing her and sighing.

"Do what?" She smiled.

"Make the worst situation better." He stated, looking down the corridor while she took his hand and pulled it towards her. They started walking and were soon both back outside the room.

Pepper let go of his hand and went to May, sitting next to her and comforting her. Tony took sat back down where he was and waited. They all waited.

* * *

"There's a 30% or higher of him developing complications for the rest of his life, as it is in all SAH patients." The doctor concluded after summarising the surgery. "You're just lucky you got him here, because most people die within thirty days if not diagnosed." He added, tapping his pen on his clipboard and looking back up. "Any questions?

"How long until he gets back to normal?" May asked a second before Tony did.

"We're not sure. He should be awake soon though." He replied, smiling and walking out and down the corridor.

"You can go first." Tony said to May, who nodded and before she opened the door, he put his hand in front of her, "I was the reason he was even out last night. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." He said as he clenched his jaw. She didn't say anything, and Pepper was frowning at Tony for even bringing it up.

He waited around an hour before she came back out. "He woke up, about half an hour ago." She smiled, "do you wanna-"

"Sure." He said. _Definitely, obviously, is that even a question?_ That was what he wanted to say, but he kept calm in front of May. "Vision or Pepper will get you something to eat." He added, and Vision led her away.

Tony opened the door. Peter looked to him. His eyes were half-closed and he was yawning. "Hey, Mr Stark." He said, with excitement in his tone.

"You sound jolly." Tony said back, sitting on the chair and pulling it closer towards the bed. "How're you doing?" He leaned back against the chair and grabbed a pen from the side table and spun it in his hand.

"Good." Peter replied.

"You weren't feeling well, why didn't you tell me?" Tony got into it right away, and Peter looked away and sighed.

"I thought it was just a headache-"

"You're Spider-Man-", he looked out the glass to look out for May, "-you have super healing, you don't _get_ 'headaches'", Tony explained with air quotes on the last word. "You had a cut-"

"I know." Peter interrupted, still not looking at him.

"You _know_? And you still just-you should've called me." Tony reiterated, tilting his head a little left to get Peter's attention.

"I didn't think it was serious!" Peter said defensively as he turned to look at Tony, and then laid back and closed his eyes.

"Does it hurt? We-we can talk about this later." Tony said, looking over the bandage on his head.

"I wouldn't have gone unless I wanted to." Peter said after a minute of silence. "People get hurt, Mr Stark." He continued, sensing the guilt.

"Kids like you do don't, and you shouldn't have. You're young-"

"I'm not. And May's happy you brought me here-"

"I wouldn't have had to if I didn't take you in the first place. She thinks a bully named Steve beat you up." Tony said, and Peter nearly laughed.

"I'm fine. I'll heal quickly and I don't think I'll have any side effects. 70% of people don't, and my healing gives me an advantage." Peter reassured Tony, although it should've been the other way round. "What are the chances I'll be in the 30-"

"Okay, Doctor Parker, take it easy." Tony smiled, leaning back again and placing the pen back on the table. "But you're not...Spider-Manning for at least a month." He ordered.

"A month? Are you crazy?" Peter said in surprise, his eyes widening.

"That's crazy? Making sure you live is crazy?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"I can't go a month!" Peter complained.

"I'll make sure you can." Tony replied, "we can call your friend-the one that's been messaging you nonstop." He said, taking it Peter's phone from his pocket and handing it over.

Peter grabbed it and looked up, "fine." He said in a defeated tone.

Tony put his hand over Peter's phone to get his attention again, "and if I find out you're lying." Tony nodded his head.

"I won't!" Peter said, pulling his phone.

"Good, because liars don't get to become Avengers." He added, and Peter looked up with excitement.

"Right." He said. "Is that like a rule?"

"From now on it is." He replied, and Peter sighed in exhaustion. "Get some sleep." He said, standing up from his chair as Peter mumbled an "okay".

"Thanks for bringing me here." Peter said as Tony got up to leave.

"No need to be thankful. All I need is for you to stay out of trouble." Tony replied, moving the chair aside and making his way out of the room. Hopefully things would be okay.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! And thank you for the awesome reviews because they motivate me!**


	6. Chapter 6

Tony sat on the edge of the cliff, his suit standing behind him as he massaged his forehead with his left hand in anger.

"I _am_ sorry." Vision said from behind, and Tony just nodded his head. He tried not to turn around - to not start arguing now because there were a hundred other things to do.

"You're sorry?" He remarked.

Pepper exhaled, "Tony, don't-"

"Why not?" He faced her, then turned to Vision, "you're not supposed to _get_ distracted, first with Rhodey and now-" Tony snapped, and Vision looked down uncomfortably.

"Tony, that's enough!" Pepper yelled. "He wasn't the only one at fault." Pepper said sternly.

Tony looked to her and was about to argue her point, but she was right. He looked over at his half-destroyed suit. "I couldn't-", he paused as his voice broke, "I let them take him." He said, putting both hands on his head and trying to control his breathing.

 _"No! Hey!" Tony yelled in desperation, as he held on to Peter's hand. "Stay awake!" Tony screamed at him as he started to fade. "Peter!"_

 _"Sir, power is extremely low and there is extensive damage to the armour." Friday reminded Tony, who felt Peter's hand slip from under him as the robotic machine from the other side pulled him away._

 _"Hey! Mr Sta-Vision!" Peter pleaded, and Tony cried out and his suit shut down, falling to the ground face first._

"They were stronger." Pepper said, holding onto his shoulder and pulling him out of the flashback.

Tony nodded in disagreement, "or we played about things wrong."

"What do we do now?" She asked, signing and flinging her hands up in the air.

"We can't track him." Tony stated.

"Why not?"

"Because the tracker is broken, Pepper, it doesn't _track_." He answered a little harshly, and she scoffed, about to walk away.

He took her hand and looked at her apologetically. "Vision's working on it." He said a little more softly, and she nodded.

* * *

Peter woke up and gasped, trying to move his hands. It was freezing, he was shivering and he could feel water on his suit. His hands were tied down to a chair and he had a headache.

"We didn't agree to this." He heard a woman say, and he lifted up his head, then wheezed in pain. There was a stabbing pain in his side, which was getting stronger as he came to his senses. He could see a darker patch of red on his suit where he was hit.

He lifted up his head again and looked to his right. He made out two people dressed in black, "hey-hey hel-help me", he yelled as loud as he could. He hung his head down and squeezed his eyes shut. It felt like he'd had his head bashed into a brick wall.

"You're awake." A woman said, and Peter opened his eyes to see her smile as he started to cough. "We just have a few questions-"

"Get real, A." A man said, almost pushing her out of the way. "I don't have time for this." He said in a rude tone, and Peter tensed, pulling at the restraints. "Tell me where they are." He said in a dangerous tone and furious eyes.

"Tell- _who_? Where _who_ is?" Peter yelled back. His body was shaking - he was freezing and probably going to die if he didn't get out of here soon.

The man threw a metal object on the floor in anger and Peter winced. "Rogers and his crew. You were there and I know." He replied, his face inches from Peter's.

"I don't know." Peter said honestly, but it sounded like a lie, because that's also what a superhero trying to be humble would say. He was stuck.

"You don't know." The man said sarcastically in a mimicking tone. "Sure you know." He said, pressing his hand on Peter's side where the bullet wound was, which made Peter scream.

"Stop! I'm telling the truth!" Peter cried out loud. He clenched his jaw tightly as his body trembled.

"Al, stop!" The woman, A, yelled, but it didn't stop him.

"I don't know! They're gone!" Peter said quickly, and the man moved off, and he let out a cry. "Jus-just let me go." Peter pleaded, gritting his teeth as he tried to avoid the pain in his side.

"You're not going anywhere." Al replied, "you have any idea how much I'll-," he cut himself off and looked at Peter. "Look at you, so young and stupid." He said as he shook his head.

"Stop." A different woman said, "leave him. He's a kid, it won't take much for him to...", she trailed off. "Leave him here." She said again, and Al moved away with a scoff.

 _'Leave him here'? I'll die here_! He watched them leave and the lights went out. He stared into the darkness until his eyes adjusted. He could hear his breathing get louder, and that was only because he was scared.

"You'll be out." He told himself, "you're already-" his voice broke and he cried, "healing. Keep it together. Just keep-keep it together." He tightly shut his eyes. Why was he afraid of the dark? There were worse things out there, like the people just outside those doors, for example.

 **2 hours later**

He fidgeted on the chair and kicked his feet as loud as he could a few times. The chair was metal, which made things so much harder. Although it couldn't hurt to try, especially knowing he could die in here. He tried his hardest to pull his hands upwards next, and threw his head back in anger when that failed.

"Hey!" He screamed, "get me out!" He closed his eyes, "get me out." He said quietly in exhaustion.

He started tapping his fingers against the chair, counting in fives. He needed something to take his mind off this.

He lost count and was about to fall asleep when the door jammed open. He tilted his head slightly to see someone walk in. "Changed your mind?"

It was Al, with a rod in his hand. Peter scoffed, "yeah, let me magically pull out information that I don't know exists." He said sardonically, knowing it could get him killed. If he was going to be found, if they were looking for him, they should've been here by now.

"What were you expecting? Would _you_ tell him anything? He's a kid!" 'A' scowled as she walked into the room, "what have we done." She said, sounding a little worried and agitated.

"Ill-thought." Was all Al said.

"Shut up. And get rid of him. Just-" she paused and swore under her breath, "-clean up your mess." She ordered, switching on the lights and putting her hand on her head.

Peter watched them argue and tried with all his strength to pull off the restraints. Were they going to kill him?

"He was the easiest to get." Al justified, walking closer to Peter, who waited painstakingly for this to end. For him to go home.

"And what was the point if you couldn't get anything?" She responded.

"If you let me go, I won't say anything." Peter said as he felt his heart pound against his chest. This was like the morning of his exam results except a thousand times worse. The fear of not knowing what was going to happen.

"Oh." Al laughed sadistically as he walked around the chair, "he won't say anything." He repeated.

Peter waited in consternation when Al stopped behind him. He couldn't see. He squinted and inhaled to control himself, which was when he felt an excruciating pain in the back of his head and screamed.

"Jeez-Al-what the-"

"He won't say anything, because he's not leaving." He said while Peter struggled for air in distress. His head had to be bleeding, because it was stinging and he could feel tears roll down his cheek.

"I'm-I'm fifteen!" Peter said in desperation. "Come on." He said quietly, his head throbbing.

Al didn't say anything for a minute. "You shouldn't have played hero then." He said coldly.

"My-my aunt. I'm all-all she has." He tried again. He really didn't want to die. He looked for the other lady but she'd left. He felt sick, and like he needed to cry.

"Then she'll be real lonely." He replied instantly, getting off his phone when he appeared in front of Peter, who tightened his fists. "Unless you know something." He tried again, glaring at Peter. "How about, you know, anything about how to get in to the new facility."

Peter exhaled shakily, breaking the eye contact and dropping his head and staring at the floor. "No."

"See, I know you've been there. You go there a lot, in fact, so never mind Rogers, this is something you _do_ know." He crouched down in front of Peter and tilted his head in wait.

"I've only been there-"

"I can tell when you're lying." He interrupted, moving forwards and gripping the back of Peter's head where the injury was and making him wince. "Anything. A security code, the number of cameras, I know you know stuff." He said a little quieter, looking out the door. "It can be our secret. I'll let you go."

"You're crazy." Peter's eyes narrowed. "You're insane, and you're gonna get caught." He said more or less to himself, and Al pulled his head closer.

"Yeah? Shame you won't be alive to see it." He replied, standing up and letting go of him. He bent down and picked up a bat, swinging around the weapon in his hand.

"Hey, wait-", Peter began, but was cut off by the blow to his head. His eyes blurred and he felt himself lose control over his fists when they loosened. Within a few seconds, he slipped into darkness.

* * *

"-technology, information or his suit! We don't know! It could be anything, and what if it's something he doesn't know?" Tony questioned as his voice got louder.

"Asking me that for the hundredth time isn't gonna make me know the answer, Tony." Rhodey answered.

"We should've stayed there. What if he-"

"Tony-I can tell you he wouldn't go back there." Rhodey cut him off, watching him type away.

"Friday, I can't do anything without the tape from the intersection." He said, squinting at his monitor.

 _"The camera was broken, sir, I recommend-"_

"I can't get anything without it. I don't know where they went and this is the last thing we have!"

 _"There is a private camera on the industrial-" Friday offered_."

"Can we look at it?"

 _"It would be-"_

"Can you get it or not?"

" _Yes_." Friday replied, pulling up something on the screen.

"Note the-uh-"

" _A paper company in an isolated area._ " Friday said.

"That's where he is?" Rhodey asked with hope.

"Paper company?" Tony asked, just as confused.

" _Yes. They switched vans_." Friday explained.

"You have a lead?" Vision appeared at the door, and both looked up to him.

"Some paper company. That's where the van's registered." Tony replied as Vision joined them.

"A cover up. But why as a paper company? Maybe they do sell paper-"

"Vis, forget the paper!" Tony interrupted, turning the monitor his way. "They're secure, I can't get into their cameras."

"I'd be able to walk through and check." Vision offered.

Tony looked to him, "unless they know you. What if they take you down or fry you? You're not going in alone." Tony ordered, moving his gaze back to the monitor

Vision looked around confused my, "it is our best option. We-"

"You're not playing that game - getting yourself killed because you think you're the reason he's there." Tony said sternly before Vision could finish.

"Why would I do that? That would be extremely foolish." Vision said innocently, and Tony sighed.

"Tony." Rhodey said, and he turned to face them both.

"Ok. We break in _together_ , we find him and we get outta there, if he's there." Tony said.

"He'll be there." Rhodey said, noticing the lack of hope Tony was showing.

"Let's go then." Tony replied, getting up immediately and extending his arm as his armour came flying.

"I'll just wait here, I guess." Rhodey said, the disappointment showing in his voice.

Tony turned to face him. "You could use a break." He said, and Rhodey nodded.

* * *

They both landed a few meters south of the building in a field.

"I can make out twenty." Tony said, walking side by side Vision.

"Peter isn't here." Vision stated, turning his head to scan the rest of the area. "There is a tunnel." He said as he moved his head to the left while looking at the ground.

Tony looked around as Vision inspected, "Friday?"

" _It wasn't in the blueprints_." Friday replied. " _Cameras cover the area five steps from where you are._ " The AI warned as Vision stepped forwards.

Tony waved his arm in front of Vision to stop him. "If we're wrong...", Tony trailed off. They'd been in enough trouble with the Accords.

"If they have nothing to hide, why should they fear anything?" Vision asked, almost sarcastically.

"That's true." Tony mumbled, "well it's now or never." He said, looking to Vision.

They flew upwards over the fence and landed on the ground above the tunnels within seconds.

"Check it, I'll take care of this." Tony said to Vision as he watched two security guards run towards him.

Vision disappeared and Tony stood in his position as the guards started firing bright blue bullets.

"A little over the top for a paper company," he shouted as he walked through. He grabbed the guns and threw them over the fence, looking to small dents in his suit. "What the hell was in that?" He looked at his damaged suit and back to the guards.

"Thought you were invincible?" One of them said, and Tony looked up in anger, lifting up his hand and throwing them back.

"What the hell are you doing!" A voice yelled, and he turned to see a man dressed in white.

"And who might you be?" Tony said in a curious tone, looking her up and down.

" _No record on him._ " Friday informed when the facial scan was complete.

"You come in here and you destroy-"

"Where is he-where's Peter?" Tony said in a cold tone, approaching the man as he stumbled backwards.

"I don't know-"

"Don't-" he started and was cut off when something hit him and sent him crashing backwards.

He opened his eyes alongside a sharp intake of air. His chest was hurting and his ears ringing. "How long was I out?" He choked out, blinking rapidly to sort out the blurred vision.

" _Forty-five seconds_." Friday replied. " _Visual systems and thrusters have been damaged._ " The AI continued, covering the screen with a statistical report.

Tony tried to get on to his feet and fell backwards again as he watched the man in front of him smile.

"Now that you mention it, I might've seen a kid." He said in a wicked tone, circling around Tony.

Tony felt his heart rate increase. "What did you do."

"I killed him." He replied, laughing to himself, "he was all 'I'm fifteen! What about my poor aunt!'" He mimicked in a higher tone, and Tony blasted at him with his hand, speeding over instantly to pick him up by the collar.

"You're lying." He felt tears build up. "Where is he?" He yelled, throwing him back into a brick wall.

"I hit him over the head twice, and I-" he was cut off when Tony threw him back again and he fell unconscious on to the ground.

"Damnit!" He hollered, moving back and lifted his metal hands to his mask, looking around at he half destroyed building. "Friday, find Vision." He stated, following the dot on the screen ahead of him.

He kicked down the huge metal door as he entered the building. Fancy. It was all white inside - the walls, floor, shelves and cupboards. Turning left, he saw the string of guards and weapons on the floor and Vision standing outside a shutter.

"Vision." He said, but it didn't seem to affect him. "You okay, buddy?" He looked down at the guards again. "Whatcha looking at?"

"Something here...it's-it's affecting me." He said, standing still in his position for another few seconds before stumbling backwards.

"I can't seem to get past this." Vision stated, looking around as Tony eyed the shutters and then the computer screen next to it.

He clicked around and the shutters opened. "I'll-I'll check it out." He said as he turned to Vision.

"My powers-"

"You can keep lookout." Tony said, facing the wooden door. "Friday?"

" _It is safe, sir_." Friday replied as Tony scanned the area. Tony nodded and kicked down the door.

He froze. "Peter?" He ran forwards, "gimme his vitals!" He yelled as he bent down in front of him.

" _Low pulse, two severe head injuries and a bullet wound._ "

Tony ripped the restraints off and gently took hold of his shoulders with his right hand as his mask opened up. "Peter?" He asked - his breathing was uneven and there was blood around his lips. What did they do? Why did it take so long to find him?

* * *

"Then fix him! That's what I pay you for!" Tony hollered, watching the doctor nod and sigh as he walked the opposite direction. He put a hand on his head in despair as he turned around.

Pepper was massaging her temple with her fingers as she looked on in sadness. Rhodey was staring at the ground and Vision was nowhere to be seen.

"Why aren't any of you saying-", his voice broke and the "anything" came out as a whisper as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists.

Pepper looked up after ignoring his whole argument with the doctor, "he's in a coma, Tony! There's not a lot anyone can do." She said, her last sentence quietly fading away.

"What was I...I didn't...", Tony mumbled, and Pepper looked up attentively. He took a few big breaths and stumbled down the corridor.

Rhodey was about to grab his crutches when Pepper put out her hand, "I'll go." She said, getting up and watching him disappear into one of the meeting rooms.

She slowly walked down and watched him sit and lean his head against his hands on the huge table. "Tony." She said sympathetically as she stood in the doorway.

He shook his head as he inhaled loudly, and she went over to him, holding his shoulder before taking a seat next to him.

"At least this time your suit didn't...," she looked away and then back to him, exhaling as she put her hand on his. "Don't let this...don't blame it on yourself."

"I'm not-I don't-I'm not blaming it on myself." He replied, burying his face in his hands.

"You're not? Really? Is that what's happening right now now?" She said sarcastically.

He looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot, "yep. I wasn't the one who took him or shot him or-"

"Tony, don't bullshit me." She said softly, "he definitely won't think it's your fault."

"May will. If she knew-"

"But she doesn't!"

"Peter's half-dead-"

"Don't say that-"

"How do you know he won't be angry-"

"So you think he'll wake up and say, 'Tony, I hate you and never wanna talk to you again'?" She said as she moved back in her chair and watched him stare at the table.

"You don't know what he'll say." He said in a dangerously low tone.

"I can guess." She countered, and he shook his head in disagreement before she even finished saying the three words, looking away from her and back at the table.

"It's-it's Mr Stark." He said quietly after a minute of silence.

Pepper glared at him, "what?"

"He calls me 'Mr Stark', not Tony, I-"

"Seriously?"

"Pepper, what if-what if all I'm doing is putting them in danger?" He asked, and she looked at him in sadness.

"What are you talking about? This is what you _do_. You _chose_ this." She reminded him.

He fiddled with the ring he was wearing and slumped back in the chair, "I did. But they didn't."

She scoffed, "yes, yes they did! We all-", she stopped midway and realised. Realised that Peter wasn't the only topic of discussion anymore, "Tony you have to let that go." Her tone changed, and he closed his eyes.

"I can't."

"Yes you can. They're not your responsibility, they chose to do what they did." She said quietly, "you have to move on, and you can only do that when you realise you couldn't have changed what they thought."

"Maybe."

"Definitely. You have other people to look out for now." She stood up, "other, _smaller_ people." She said with a smile, putting down Peter's mask on the table in front of Tony as he smiled a little.

* * *

 **1 week later**

"-she's coming in-", Tony looked down at his watch, "-three hours." His eyes narrowed, "time's going quick." He looked up at Peter, and then back at his table. "Anyway, you're probably the second person who knows what I just told you, after Jarvis."

He sighed, putting down the screwdriver. "Jarvis wasn't supposed to...die." He frowned, "machines can't _die_. They're not supposed to, not my ones."

He was about to continue when he heard a quiet groan. He looked up and got up from his chair, making his way to Peter. "Parker, can you hear me?" He asked, waving his hand in front of his face.

Peter's eyes opened slowly, and the first thing he saw was something moving quickly in front of him, until his eyes adjusted to see it was a hand. The hand moved and he saw Tony, smiling as he hovered over him.

"Where?" He managed to say with a raspy voice, taking hold of the tubes on his face and ripping them off as he squinted at the light.

"The new facility. We found you." He said, helping Peter up as he handed him a glass of water.

Peter lifted his hand up to his head. "Man...that was-wow." He yawned, and Tony smiled, "it was."

"How long have I-um-been asleep?" He asked.

"A week." Tony replied, and Peter's eyes widened.

"A what!" He yelled, looking around the room. "What about school-May! She's probably-"

"She knows." Tony said, realising it was the wrong choice of words too late.

"She knows? She'll kill me!"

"I mean she thinks you got into a car accident." He corrected himself, "now stop yelling and moving so much."

"My head." He said, touching the back.

"You got stitches. Be careful."

"Did you get the guy? The one with the white shirt?"

"Is he the one who hit you?" Tony asked, and Peter looked away uncomfortably. "Peter."

"Yeah."

"We got him."

"Good."

"What did he want?" Tony asked, rolling over his chair with his foot as he took a seat.

"What's that?" Peter glanced at the table behind Tony and attempted to change the topic.

Tony looked at the table, "a distraction. Someone had to keep you company, and I see what you're doing. What did he want?"

"He wanted to know where Captain America was." Peter replied loudly in defeat.

"And? What did you say?"

"I said nothing, because I knew nothing." Peter said childishly.

"Siberia. I told you, when we came back-"

"I didn't tell him." Peter interrupted.

"Why not?" Tony asked with underlying anger in his tone.

"You said not to tell anyone."

"They could've let you go. It wouldn't matter, because I also told you that he wasn't there anymore."

"He wanted to know about your facility too!" Peter said in a high-pitched tone.

"You hardly know anything as it is, you could've made something up"

"I'm not a good liar." Peter said, and Tony clenched his jaw.

"Then tell him the truth!"

"I made the right choice by my-"

"You could've died. The facility could be remade." Tony argued furiously as if he was scolding a young child.

"What if he-if they attacked you and tried to kill everyone-"

"Peter."

"Then it would be _my_ fault." Peter said with all his heart, and it hurt Tony to see him so upset. To see that this was the young boy risking everything to save a few people he didn't even fully know yet.

"What did he do?"

"Just asked me-"

"Really?"

"He hit me on the head twice. You know that already."

"Anything else? I'll personally pay him a-"

"If you were in my position, would you have told them anything?"

"That's not the point. I shouldn't have put you in that position."

"I knew what I was getting into."

"It wouldn't be your fault-"

"Yes it would!" Peter yelled as he cut in.

"What are you not getting! Peter-"

"You're not listening to me! They were psychos and that lady-"

"You don't get to decide that your life-"

"Enough! It's like there's two of you now." Pepper appeared at the door as she glared angrily at Tony with a 'seriously?' face.

Tony looked at her and then back to Peter, sighing in his chair. "I'm done." He announced, lifting both hands in the air for a second. "I am!" He said defensively when Pepper furrowed her brows.

"How you doing?" Pepper asked Peter, smiling as she walked inside.

"Uhm-g-good, Miss-P-"

"Pepper. It's Pepper." She said, and he nodded.

"I'm great. Thank you-both of you." He looked at Tony, who had his arms crossed now.

"You're welcome. Now back to the guy." He said as Peter sighed.

"You just said you were done." Pepper reminded him.

"I'm done arguing. I'm _not_ done finding out what these people were after." He argued back, and she rolled her eyes.

"Tony. I-"

"Fine, fine." He said, waving his hand, "we'll do this later."

Pepper frowned at him and was about to say something when her phone started buzzing, she glanced at it and then back to Tony, "I have to go, play nice." She ordered, backing out of the room and walking away.

"She's nice." Peter said after a few seconds, avoiding eye contact.

"Yep, super nice." Tony said instantly.

"Well, I'm feeling better, I'm gonna just-"

"You're not going anywhere yet. You're super-worried aunt is gonna be here in an hour - I texted her." He said, waving his phone.

"Ok. Right." Peter mumbled to himself.

"I'm glad you're okay." Tony smiled, "and also, you're not going on a mission ever again." He added, going on his phone.

"What? No! You always say that stuff like this happens-"

"You're fifteen, going to college, you don't need nightmares keeping you up all night."

"Mr Stark, that's unfair!" Peter whined, sitting up on the bed. "I can handle it!"

"I know you can, but I can't."

"What does that even mean?"

"You're my responsibility-hey!" Tony called when he saw Peter roll his eyes, "you're my responsibility and I can't have...", he trailed off, "you're not going."

"For how long?"

"Seven years. You want a number? It's seven."

Peter stared in shock with his mouth open, "seven _years_? That's crazy!"

"No, it's responsible, is what it is-these people put you in a coma!"

"I'm fine. You're seriously-"

"I'm the grownup here, so I decide." Tony said in a suddenly-serious tone.

Peter shook his head in discontent, "you're the one who brought me into this. You took me to Germany! _You_ told me all these things _-"_

"And I'm also the one whose changing my mind now."

"Fine. Then I'm leaving." He muttered under his breath, throwing the blanket off and stepping off the bed, before stumbling back to gain his balance.

"You're not leaving, stop acting like a child."

"You treat me like I'm a child."

"You are-Peter, you're young. You don't wanna grow up and realise you wasted your time with all this."

"I won't-"

"You will. Then you'll realise I'm the one who let you do this- _made_ you do this. You'll be stuck in a life you can't leave."

"I can decide."

"You'll thank me when you're graduating. You'll thank me when you get home now and start having panic attacks and understand that you don't need more of this."

"I should be able to decide that." Peter argued, pursuing his lips.

Tony looked at him for a minute as the argument came to a close, "okay, look, how about we focus on you recovering first?"

"But we'll talk about the missions thing later, right?"

Tony exhaled, "sure, we'll talk about it later."

"And I'm sorry about Jarvis." Peter said quietly.

Tony shrugged, "he-it wasn't real. You're real. That was a machine."

"Yes he was. And I'm glad I have Karen."

"You named her?"

"You named yours."

"I did." He smirked as Peter started telling him about why he named her and getting trapped in side the building.

* * *

 **Thanks again for the reviews! So I was already working on this one and it was way harder to write than the others.**

 **Shoyzz- I didn't do a part 2 to the last one because it'd be similar to the other ptsd one and I considered the hair and all but decided not to mention it at all.**

 **And idk if it's because I'm the one writing it but does it feel like it ends too quickly? Or like the skips are too much and I miss too much info? Anyway, thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7: What do you see?

" _What do you think? I obviously told her you were with m_ e." Ned said a little defensively through the phone as Peter sighed. " _She'll find out_."

"No she won't." He said in a depressed tone, "just...back me up." He said through the intercom as he stared down at the city from a rooftop.

" _I will, but will you just tell me what's going on with you? Maybe you need like a-like a superhero therapist. Maybe Iron Man has one_ -"

"Ned! I don't need a therapist, I'm fine!" Peter yelled as if he'd been attacked. "I'll deal with May myself and I'll talk tomorrow." He said. "Karen end the call." He mumbled.

"Peter-", Ned was cut off when the call ended. Peter closed his eyes, kicking his legs in the air.

" _Your friend seems worried_." Karen said when the call ended. " _Is this because Liz left? You should've told her you loved her._ "

"No, Karen! It's not because Liz left." Peter said quickly as he rolled his eyes. "I'm fine."

" _Then why are you lying to your aunt May?_ " The AI intercepted, and Peter back flipped off the ledge onto the rooftop, walking over to the other side and staring down at a squabble.

"I'm not lying, there are certain things you can't tell people." Peter replied, jumping onto a balcony to get closer to the fight.

" _Why not_?" Karen asked as Peter crouched in the balcony.

"She'll get upset. She'll think I can't handle it-what are they talking about?" He squinted at the ground. There were four men, a woman and they were all shouting and swearing.

"-more time, please!" A man said in a terrified tone - the one next to the woman. "Our kid-"

"I don't give a shit!" Another one said, and Peter swung down, webbing their weapons out of their hands.

"Go." He faced the couple, who ran in the other direction. He turned around and webbed the offenders' hands onto the car and wall, tilting his head when he was done.

"Hey, you little-"

"I wouldn't say anything if I were you." Peter interrupted, throwing the weapons in the backup of their pickup truck. "Tell it to the cops." He said, ordering Karen to call.

"I'll come back for you. And you know what I'll do first? Kill May."

Peter looked up and he couldn't find his words for a second. "How do you know her?"

"The hell are you talking about? Just let me get out and you're dead." The man trapped on the wall shouted back, and Peter sighed in relief. What was happening to him?

"We'll see." He said, staring at them until he heard he sirens in the back. "Have fun."

He webbed and criss-crossed down the alley, reaching the roof again. " _Maybe you can talk to me about it_." Karen tried again.

"Actually, I can't." Peter replied, jumping around the ledges and watching the street. He looked at the corner of his eyes to see the time - 10:13. Shit.

He jumped down onto the alley next to his apartment, putting his clothes on over his suit and throwing his backpack on. "Bye, Karen." He muttered, taking off the mask after taking a look around and stuffing it in his pocket.

He went out the front and walked to the entrance, making his way in and up the building, dreading what May was going to say. He stopped when he reached the door, exhaling before knocking.

Within ten seconds, the door opened and an upset May appeared. He looked down in shame as he carefully walked past her. "I'm not even gonna ask where you were. You don't care what I say-"

"I do! May, I'm sorry." He attempted, turning to face her as she stood in front of the door.

"You're always sorry, Peter, and you're always doing the same thing again the next day!" She yelled back, and he looked down again. "Why don't you listen to me?"

"I got-I was a little busy with-"

"Don't say the internship." May cut in, putting up her hand in the air, "I called reception and she didn't even know that Stark Industries even did internships, forget the name Peter Parker."

"It's a mistake"

"Really? Peter you're out till eleven at night sometimes, you think I don't notice? I'm not chalking it up to teenage fun anymore. You need to be here - you need to do what I say, you-", she paused midway and ran her hand down her face, "no more going out."

"May!"

"It's a final decision."

"Can you talk to Mr Stark, at least? I can't stay bottled up in here all day!"

"Why not? Most kids your age go to school, come home and do their homework and go to sleep. What is so special about you that you have to wander around the city till midnight?" May asked rhetorically, walking past him into the kitchen.

"I have-I have special requirements-"

"Stop it, Peter. You know, maybe-maybe this is finally you getting out all that anger but it's not safe." She sighed, "we can go to a therapist-"

"I'm not going anywhere. What's with everyone and the therapist?" He said angrily.

"So this is what? Teenage rebellion?" She scratched the side of her forehead as she leaned against the counter, "Peter, I'm trying to look out for you, I always will." She said softly, squinting as she looked at him. She moved closer and held his neck as she turned his face. "Did you get into another fight?" She asked, touching a bruise on his face as he winced and moved backwards.

"No." He said, "May, stop!" He yelled playfully when she tried to get another look.

"Is that the issue? Is it those kids from school giving you a hard time?" She asked worriedly.

"May, if I was in trouble, the first person I'd go to is you." He said, although he knew it was a lie - and that was largely because she didn't know what or who he was.

"Then why don't you? Peter, everything I do is for you." She smiled, turning to the freezer to grab an ice pack.

"I know." He took the ice from her and put it on his jaw, turning to go to his room. "I'm not grounded am I?" He asked as he opened his room door.

"It's not grounding. I'm asking you not to stay out after nine, that's standard. Which internship makes kids stay till midnight on a school night all days of the week?" May asked rhetorically with concern in her voice.

"Fine. Okay." He mumbled, closing his door as he got inside and throwing the ice pack on his bed, moving in front of the mirror to take a closer look. _It'll heal_.

He collapsed on to the bed and closed his eyes. He didn't even know why he was fighting the curfew issue, he didn't mind staying in anymore.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he reached in to get it out. Ned. He sighed again, and put it on the side-table, burying his face in the pillow and closing his eyes.

* * *

Peter made his way up his building, pushing up his backpack as he entered the elevator. The least he could do was try and not upset May for a week after her little outburst. The doors opened with the usual _ding_ and he stepped out.

"Huh." He looked down at the tilted doormat and then back at the door. He knocked on the door and put his hands in his pocket, staring blankly ahead.

A minute passed and he knocked again, "May!" He yelled, frowning and looking around before grabbing the emergency key from a tiny crack next do the door.

He entered and closed the door behind him, seeing her purse on the table. "You said you were gonna be home this morning - I didn't take my keys!" He called out to her, throwing his bag on the sofa. He looked at her opened door and said her name again.

"May!" He said again, making his way in. He stopped at the door when he saw her. There was blood everywhere - all over her clothes and the floor. "May." His voice cracked.

He couldn't breathe. He ran to her side and bent down, taking out his phone as he waved his hand over her mouth and nose. "You'll be okay." He said, trying to stop himself from crying.

She wasn't even breathing. He scrambled around in his pocket and put on his mask. "Is she-is she breathing? Is she-she alive?" He said between cries, putting both hands on a wound on her side. "Karen!"

" _She's not, I'm sorry, Peter."_ Karen replied instantly, and Peter sobbed, moving back and away from her. " _An ambulance is on the way_." Karen informed him.

"I'm-what am I-Karen I can't-"

"Well done, Peter." A voice said, and Peter almost fell over when he turned his head.

"Uncle Ben." He said in shock, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks.

"You got us both killed." He replied, a look of disappointment on his face.

He felt like a little kid again, crying when he didn't want to, "I didn't-I-you're-that wasn't my fault...how are you here?"

"Wake up." Ben said in monotone.

"What?" Peter fell backwards.

"Wake up, Peter!" A voice yelled as he woke up screaming.

He opened his eyes as they adjusted to the dark. "It's okay." May's voice comforted, and he immediately grabbed on to her hand that was on his cheek.

"May." He whispered with a wavering voice.

"I'm here." She said comfortingly, "you're crying, and you were screaming." She said, and he felt his hands shake as he brought them up to wipe away the tears.

"It was just a nightmare." He replied, turning towards her and holding her hand.

She lifted her free hand and ran it through his hair a few times. "Do you remember it?" She asked softly.

"No." He lied.

"Peter." She said in a serious tone, because she knew that he remembered. "Do you want to be alone?"

"No." He mumbled, grasping her hand tightly.

"Are they the same every night?"

"I can't remember them when I wake up." He replied. "Just stay here."

"Was it about me?" She asked when he unintentionally tightened his hold.

He nodded his head on the pillow, "maybe."

"Nothing can happen to me." She smiled although he couldn't see, "hey!" She called playfully.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He murmured sleepily.

"Okay." She said quietly, tapping his head as he went to sleep. "That's okay."

She waited for half an hour - only getting up when she was sure he was asleep. Not only because he didn't want him to have another nightmare, but also because she saw how scared he was when he woke up. "Sweet dreams." She whispered, slowly pulling her arm from under him so that he didn't wake up.

* * *

"I'm late, I can't." Peter said as he tossed his books into his bag.

"It'll take five minutes. Or take it with you and eat it at lunch!" May argued, holding out a sandwich.

Peter smiled, "okay, okay." He grabbed it and threw it in the bag with the apple she also gave him.

"Careful, don't squish it." May said. "Peter." She called as he sat down to tie his laces.

"Yeah?"

"I was up searching your nightmares." She said, and he looked up at her. "You're fifteen and it says you shouldn't be having them unless you're on drugs or had an accident." She explained.

"I don't even remember them."

"That's normal." She quickly replied, "are you on-you know-"

"What? No! I'm not high, May!" Peter interrupted when he saw where she was going with that.

"Okay! Okay, I believe you." She said, "do you wanna see a doctor?" She asked.

"No. Is it dangerous?"

"It's not normal." She said, and he scratched his head.

"I'm fine." He concluded his own mental evaluation.

"Okay. We'll see another month." She replied as he got up and made his way to the front door. "Stay safe! Avoid danger!" She called out as he closed the door and sighed.

He didn't remember the dreams but he knew exactly why he was getting them - that fight with Liz's dad. He stood and thought about it for a few seconds before heading down.

He was at school, and out of school within a few hours. Time was going slow - Ned was asking questions and Peter was all but ignoring him. He knew he was acting off and rude, but he didn't want to do much to change that.

He changed into his suit after-school after Ned went his way, and hopped onto the roof.

 _"You seem to be quiet lately._ " Karen said observantly as Peter jumped from roof to roof.

"I'm tired." Peter replied, taking a seat on a ledge and running his hand over his face.

" _Why?"_ Karen asked, and Peter exhaled.

"I don't wanna die." He said bluntly.

" _You're not dying_." Karen stated immediately as Peter's vision was obscured by a few medical statistics.

"Not right now, Karen!" Peter scolded as if talking to a child.

" _Is it anxiety_?" Karen asked.

Peter frowned, closing his eyes in anger. Was it anxiety?

" _There's a disturbance_." Karen interrupted, and Peter looked down at an argument and webbed down into the alley.

"Hey!" He called, but the boys continued to argue - masks covered their faces as they pushed around a woman. "Let her go!" He called, but they ignored him.

He swung down and smashed the heads of the offenders into the wall while the lady made a run out of the alley.

" _You've injured them_." Karen said as Peter stared at the two. One of them was on the floor and bleeding, and another was rubbing his head and having difficulty standing up.

"They deserved it." He replied, standing around until he heard the sirens in the back.

" _You usually prefer non-violence._ " Karen said as he reached the roof again. The lady was standing in the back of a police car this time and the two teenagers were arguing.

He looked for another minute then made off, crouching down and then taking a seat on a shaded roof. He took a long breath of air and then put both hands on his face over the mask.

He felt himself tear up again and took the mask off. He looked over the city and ran his hand through his hair in panic as felt his heart-rate increase. "What am I doing?" He whispered to himself through a shaky voice.

" _May is calling_." Karen said as he stood up. The time was 18:38 and he contemplated picking up.

"Text her I'm coming-" He froze when a huge metal body landed with a _thud_ in front of him. "Mr Stark?" He said as he moved backwards when he regained his breath.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Tony demanded, walking towards Peter.

"' _I'm coming Mr Stark' sent_." Karen said.

Peter snapped out of it and moved his head to the side, "no! Karen, no! Tell May I'm coming-that was separate!" He yelled quietly as Tony watched him.

"Finished?" Tony spoke, and Peter turned around with his mouth open in surprise.

"Why are you here?" Peter asked, although he had a pretty good idea why.

" _Re-sent, Peter_." Karen said.

"You're coming with me, you've had enough fun tonight," Tony said, about to grab him when he saw Peter move his hand up to his chest and his eyes narrow.

" _This could be a panic attack._ " Karen said as soon as he squinted.

"I haven't got time for this, Parker." Tony said, and he stepped forwards again while Peter stared at him. Everything was a blur and he felt like he was dying because everything was happening so slowly. He saw Tony lift up his arm and then motion for him to come.

"A-a what?" Peter answered to Karen between a few heavy breaths as he got up and stumbled back against a tank. "Stop". He said to himself as he wheezed. "Come on." He told himself.

"Peter." Tony said worriedly, keeping his distance as his mask opened to reveal his face.

" _Count to ten. It should help._ " Karen advised.

Peter waited a few seconds but he felt himself getting worse. _Counting? How would that help? "_ One, two-I can't!" He yelled as he watched his hands tremble in front of him. He could hardly see them - he could hardly see anything

" _Peter, calm down_." Karen's voice rang in his ears and so did Tony's, who was saying something in the back.

"I can't-why can't I see-", he whispered to himself as broke down. His legs gave out and he ended up on the floor, leaning against the tank.

He clawed at his neck as his chest tightened, like he was being squashed between something, and he felt Tony's hand on his back.

"It's okay. You're safe." A voice echoed in the back.

"I can't breathe." Peter choked, slamming his back head into the metal.

"Yes you can." Tony said, "it just feels like that."

"No." Peter said as he squinted again and felt tears under the mask, which he practically ripped off in the panic.

Tony grabbed the mask when Peter threw it away, and looked up at him. "Count again." Tony advised.

"No." Peter said again, like an adamant child. "I'm-", he tightened his fists and started trembling a little.

Tony looked at him and slowly pulled him in towards himself, putting his arm around him. He felt Peter bury his face into his shoulder and he fidgeted a little.. "You're alright." He said softly as he patted his back.

"I'm dying." Peter mumbled with a small cry, and Tony looked down at his hair for a few seconds.

"I won't let you." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Focus on something else."

Peter shook his head in disagreement, and Tony waited. Waited until he pulled away himself and looked up at Tony for a second, or even less, before frowning and looking away, and it broke Tony's heart.

"I'm okay." Peter said to himself, still a little out of breath.

Tony clenched his jaw, "has this happened before?"

"No." Peter replied hazily.

"This is because of your whole-", he made a vague hand gesture, "-thing with the Vulture?" Tony asked, sniffing as he watched Peter get up and sit on the ledge opposite the tank.

"I guess." Peter said, when the answer was actually ' _yes, definitely_.'

Tony nodded, nervously covering his mouth with his right hand. "And it's just-just this once? Is there anything else I should know?" He stammered.

"No." Peter lied, "I have to get home."

"I shouldn't have taken you." Tony said, standing up.

"What?"

"Fifteen isn't the age to be having a mental breakdown." Tony said, looking at him sympathetically.

Peter looked down. "I'm not...", he trailed off.

"You beat up two people. The lady's telling everyone what she saw."

"I saved her!" Peter shouted defensively as he stood up.

"Doesn't matter. People don't care." Tony replied a little harshly. "Why don't you take a break?" He suggested straight after when he saw Peter clench his fists.

"Yeah."

" _Yeah_? The day you give in that easily is a day I'll remember."

"You want me to say no? No." Peter rolled his eyes, and Tony stepped forwards authoritatively.

Tony sighed, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder as the boy stumbled backwards and ended up back on the ledge. "In trying to help. We don't need you creating a bad image. You don't _want_ that. You don't _need_ that."

"They were bad people." Peter stated in anger.

Tony looked past him at the city, then back at him as he exhaled, "it doesn't matter." He said again, "just listen to me this time. Listen and you'll stay safe."

"Okay."

"You stopped giving your little reports."

"I haven't been doing much."

" _I_ still need them. Starting tomorrow." Tony stated, stepping backwards into his suit. "And tomorrow after school, Happy's picking you up." He informed, in his suit by then and throwing the mask at Peter.

"Why?"

"Because I said. Now get home - or better yet, I'll give you a lift." Tony said, hovering forwards.

Peter waved his hand in disagreement, "no! I can go." He said.

"Okay!" Tony backed off instantly when he saw Peter jump, "and you're gonna call me before you go out next time." He warned, instantly turning and taking off.

Peter watched him go and sighed in anger, squeezing his mask in his hand before putting it on and making his way down and back to May.

By the time he got home it was nearing seven-thirty. He knocked on the door and May welcomed him in.

"At your internship?" May asked with her mouth half-full.

"Yep." He answered, making his way to his room.

"Hello? What about dinner." May called out before he got inside.

"I already ate, promise." Peter answered, and May frowned.

"Have you been crying?" She asked, dropping the things in her hands onto the kitchen counter and making her way over.

Peter's eyes widened, "no!" He stood there when she put her hand on his shoulder.

"You're eyes are red." She said.

"Yeah-I probably didn't get enough sleep." He said convincingly, "you know that."

"Oh. Is there anything you need?" She asked as he started backing away into his room again.

"Nope, just sleep." He said quickly, shutting his door and sighing when he got in.

He stared around again and closed his eyes in exhaustion, leaning against his door.

* * *

He looked at his phone again for the hundredth time. It was 6:45, and this was the fourth time this week he hadn't slept, because not only did he want to avoid the nightmares, but he couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried.

He closed his eyes again - _fifteen minutes should he okay_ , he told himself after he started with _nine hours._

He closed his eyes, but the fifteen minutes flew by. He felt like screaming into his pillow. He kicked the duvet off in anger and rolled off the bed in exhaustion.

"You'll be late, hurry up!" May shouted from outside.

"Coming!" He yelled back, grabbing his clothes off the chair.

"Get some sleep?" May asked when he came out ten minutes later.

"A lot." Peter replied, and he felt horrible for telling her lie after lie.

"That's good - I left money on the table - when are you coming home?"

He looked up a thing her and scrunched up husband face, "eight?"

"You better." She said, going back into her room.

He smiled at her and grabbed the money off the table, shoving it into his pocket while throwing his backpack on.

"Bye!" He said, slamming the door after she responded.

He ran down the stairs in a hurry, stopping when he got outside. He put his bag on the ground and rummaged around to find the sandwich from yesterday. He took it out and made a face at the smell when he chucked it into the bin nearby.

"Peter!"

He looked over to see Ned. "Ned?"

"May called." He made a 'caught' face as he walked over.

"And said what?"

"Oh, ya know...stuff," Ned replied as he slowed down and started walking side by side with Peter.

"I'm fine." Peter said in a high-pitched tone.

"Your eyes. Looks like you haven't slept in a week." Ned predicted.

"You're always telling me you don't get enough sleep."

Ned shook his head in disagreement, "that's different - everyone says that. _You_ look depressed, Peter."

"I'm fine." Peter repeated.

"You wouldn't let me get away with acting like that." Ned said, sympathetically looking at him.

"Ned." Peter sighed, "I'm just tired." He responded, and pretty much ended that chapter.

"You're lying." Ned said, and Peter didn't reply in confirmation.

Peter stopped in his tracks, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Then what do you wanna talk about?" Ned asked, also stopping with him.

"I don't know...what about that computer thing you were working on?" Peter looked at him in excitement.

Ned laughed a little, "my computer thing?" He thought about it and decided to go on, seeing Peter wasn't going to tell him anything anytime soon. " Firstly, it's not a computer thing, and secondly, it worked!" Ned said proudly as he started rambling on about what he did, and Peter listened intently.

* * *

It was another slow day at school, and Ned was trying his best to cheer him up, and Peter could see that, and it made him smile at times.

"I'll come with you." Ned said when the bell rang and got up to leave.

"Happy's actually picking me up. I kinda beat two people up yesterday." Peter said awkwardly and Ned's eyes widened.

Ned spoke when they reached the corridor, "Like innocent people? Peter that's-"

"No!" Peter said as loudly as he could without attracting attention. "They were bad guys, but Mr Stark says people will think I'm violent." Peter mumbled as if he'd been told he'd been grounded by a parent.

"He's not wrong." Ned said, nodding in agreement as they passed the lockers.

"Yeah, okay, Iron Man's biggest fan." Peter smiled, and Ned frowned.

"Says the guy who dressed up in the armour and nearly got killed when he was six because he thought he was Iron Man." Ned furrowed his brows.

"I wasn't six!" Peter replied as they both laughed.

"Well I'll see you." Ned said when they got outside and he turned the other way. "You're ride's here." Ned said nodding his head towards it

Peter turned to see a posh black car parked opposite the school. He frowned and put his hands in his pocket, walking down the steps slowly.

He crossed the street and was about to knock on the back door when it unlocked. He got in and took a seat on the side.

"Ready?"

"Like I have a choice." Peter pouted, throwing his bag on the side and staring out the window.

"Don't let this stuff get to you." Happy advised, starting the car.

Peter looked to him and then down. "Right."

* * *

"I already tried that one."

"And?"

"It was too sticky."

"Isn't that the whole point of a web? To stick?" Tony remarked, crossing off on the list.

"Okay, funny, but when people can't get out for like six hours, they'll have you to thank-"

"Okay, boy-genius, what haven't you tried?"

"I just-I kinda just experiment," Peter replied, and Tony waited for him to continue. "I didn't make a list." Peter said simply with a sigh.

"I take the boy-genius part back."

"Hey, there's only so much I can do _in_ secret _in_ a school lab." Peter replied in his defence as he looked down at the bubbling mixture.

"That's why you're here. But moving on to the more important...", Tony's voice trailed off, and Peter looked to him.

Everything started moving slowly. He could see Tony move his mouth and he looked around. _Don't let this happen now._

"Is May at home?" A voice asked, and he looked behind Tony to see his Uncle again. This time there were bullet wounds and holes in his clothes.

"Wha-what?" Peter asked in confusion, feeling tears build up and his throat dry up.

"Look what you did." He nodded his head in disappointment.

Peter glared agape. "You're not real." He told the figure and himself.

"What?" Tony cut in when everything snapped back to reality?

"Huh?"

"You just said something." Tony said, "it doesn't matter. Look the reason you're here is...I'm not-you're like my-," he paused again, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder.

Peter looked to the left again and Ben was still there. He looked down uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked, looking behind himself to where Peter was looking.

"I need to go to-to wash my-my hands." Peter stammered, adding a little cough as he walked out. His head was hurting again.

He reached the washrooms and nearly collapsed, holding onto the sink. "I'm going crazy." He said to himself, looking at his face in the mirror. He was a mess. "Get your-yourself together, Peter, just get-" he stopped when he looked up at the mirror and nearly jumped.

He closed his eyes and felt memories flash by. Of May, of Ben dying, and then a glimpse of May dead. He grabbed his head with both hands and nearly screamed. He'd never felt so helpless before, because this was something he couldn't change with a suit.

"Peter."

Tony stood in the doorway, but Peter didn't reply. He was now sitting on the floor with his eyes closed and his hands holding onto his head.

" _This_ is why we're here." Tony said, walking in and sitting down next to him. "What do you see?" He asked.

"May."

"May?"

"She's dead. She's dead because of me."

"Easy there, she's not-she's alive in real life." Tony said, "you can separate that, right?"

"I can't. Because I'm going crazy-"

"No you're not, Peter-"

"I was having a dream of May and I saw Uncle Ben and May had to wake me up before I realised I was dreaming!" Peter said in a high pitched tone. "And I saw him today. I can't even tell if I'm dreaming." He said, and Tony gritted his teeth in concern. Peter looked confused, Maybe-"

"You're not dreaming, Parker, this is all very real."

"Prove it." Peter demanded, staring at him.

Tony squinted his eyes and moved his arm up in front of Peter to reveal a news article.

"What does it say?" Tony asked, and Peter looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Read it."

"No."

"Peter, I need you to read it." He urged.

"Neighbourhood Spider-Man saves woman from fire." Peter said, and he smiled a little.

The view changed and a clock appeared. "What's the time?"

"5:30." Peter whispered, and he sighed in relief, "you can't read or tell the time in dreams." He said to himself when he realised.

"What's going on?" Tony asked, putting his arm down.

"I can't do this. I don't-I can't be Spider-Man." Peter replied, frowning sadly as he looked at the tiles on the floor.

"Because you don't want to?"

Peter shook his head, "because I can't let May get caught up in this. If anything happened to her because of me, I'd-my life would be over."

"I'm not gonna tell you what I did in your situation, because it was a self-destruct mission, but I _can_ tell you that it won't always feel like this."

"I can't go out every night worrying about her."

"If you decide to quit, you'll never get past that fear."

Peter wanted to ask him who he cared about so much, because he couldn't tell, and that was making it difficult to relate.

"It was Pepper." Tony said as if he read Peter's mind. "In my experience, they actually took her." He looked down as he thought about it.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't stop being Iron Man." He answered, clearing his throat. "I have someone I want you to see."

"I'm not seeing a therapist." Peter said adamantly, everyone had been telling him to, and he hated to even think about the idea.

"One step at a time. The doctor first." Tony said, and there were a few seconds of silence before he spoke again. "What are you scared of?"

Peter silently gritted his teeth, "of someone getting to May-"

"What are you scared of?" Tony cut in, and Peter frowned at him.

"That she'll need me. She'll need me and I won't be there - like I wasn't for...", his voice disappeared and he put his face between his hands on his knees.

"That wasn't your fault. You were, what, fourteen? You couldn't have stopped them."

"I got it straight after." Peter almost yelled in his defensive voice, "if I'd been there just a minute earlier-"

"They would've killed you too." Tony told him, and Peter looked up again. "Then all the people you saved since then would be dead." He said bluntly.

"Maybe."

"Come on." Tony urged him as he stood up himself. Peter sighed and pulled himself up.

"Thanks. For this."

"I didn't do anything.

* * *

I'm abroad so it was late - anyway, sorry for any incorrect info on the panic attacks/nightmares - I tried to research it as much as I could. This one took me ages to write and was hard! And it might not be my best work :o

This was based on a prompt by Nindragon :)


	8. Chapter 8: Can You Hear Me?

Request to see Peter's transformation through Ben's death.

"Peter? Come on."

A voice called in the distant, and Peter gasped, opening his eyes for only a few seconds as he clenched his fists.

 _"Wait here, I'll be back." Ben smiled, taking the keys and getting out of the car._

 _"Remember my hoodie!" Peter shouted through the window as Ben crossed the street. He waved his hand as a 'yes'._

 _Peter watched him go in and leaned back in the car seat and continued with his game._

"-can you hear me?" A voice interrupted, and he opened his eyes again to see black, closing them before he could adjust.

He could hear voices in the back, but they were all a blur. He couldn't even tell where he was, or why he was there, or even _who_ he was with.

He nearly blacked out again, but felt a stinging pain in his chest. He fidgeted uncomfortably and coughed as he felt it tighten.

"-to stop! Move back!" A voice yelled, and Peter reluctantly opened his eyes. He could see a few faces hovering around. He wasn't in a hospital.

"You're not a doctor!" Another voice replied, and he heard some ruffling. It sounded like Tony.

"You know what-"

"He's waking-Peter? Can you hear me?" Tony's voice faded again before Peter could reply.

 _He checked the time from the corner of his screen and looked out the window again for the tenth time as he pushed up his glasses, and then looked up at his own window. Someone was moving in there - probably Ben looking for the hoodie._

 _He stared as his room lights flickered and he squinted, going back on his phone and calling Ben, except he didn't pick up. He looked back at the street and sighed. He was taking too long, and May was waiting. He waited a few seconds before making up his mind and opening the car door._

 _He ran across the street and looked back at the car before making his way inside. A woman walked past him and smiled as she headed out. He pressed the elevator button and looked back out the entrance to see the car while waiting._

 _The doors opened and he stepped in next to an older woman who lived on the same floor._

 _"What're you doing running around this late, Peter?" She asked, and Peter laughed._

 _"We're running some errands-me and my Uncle." He explained._

 _"Ben's ruining your sleeping schedule." She murmured when the doors dinged open._

 _"I'll tell him." Peter smiled, watching her make her way down the corridor._

 _"You do that." She replied, and he turned back to his own door. He was about to knock but it was open._

 _"Ben? The car's still unlocked so hurry up, you were-"_

 _"Get your hands up!" A voice yelled furiously, and Peter instantly put both hands in the air as a masked man appeared with a gun._

 _Peter's eyes searched desperately for his uncle._

 _"Let him go!" Ben yelled from inside a room, and he slowly walked out with his hands also in front of him. Another bald man walked in straight afterwards, who wasn't wearing a mask._

 _"He's a kid! He's just a kid! Let him go - Peter get out." Ben yelled at his terrified nephew._

 _Peter nodded and moved back against the door when the man moved forwards._

 _"Hey! No one said you could move!" The second one pointing the gun at Peter bellowed as he straightened his hold._

 _"No!" Ben roared, defensively moving towards Peter._

 _"Hey!" Someone yelled, but Peter couldn't tell who, because his heart was racing and his eyes were on his uncle._

 _A loud bang startled them all, and Peter stumbled back into the door in shock._

"-then get Rhodey to do something?" Tony yelled, and Peter coughed as he jerked awake.

"Help him." Peter said in a croaky voice, his hands instinctively moved towards his stomach but someone grabbed them.

"You're hurt, help who?" Tony asked, moving away from his suit instantly, and Peter looked up to finally see his face. It was unreadable - there was a mixture of concern, anger and sadness.

They'd been chasing someone. He remembered. "Where are we?" He frowned, wincing every time he took a breath.

"Inside. We can't leave yet." Tony stated, running his hand on his forehead in worry.

"I found-he's awake! We can move him." A woman called out from behind Peter, who tried to move.

"Don't move." He said to Peter, "he can't move! We go out there and we're as good as dead."

"Like that ever stopped you." She muttered, and at that point, Peter was desperate to see who it was.

"You wanna go out there, be my guest. After all this is _your_ mess." Tony said in a dead-serious tone. "But you're not dragging him into this."

"I didn't-you weren't supposed to be here." She answered, and he heard her walk around.

Peter's eyes widened, "you're-you're the-"

"Natasha." She replied, looking at his stomach and making a face.

"Did I-I break some-something?" Peter tried lifting his head to take a look but closed his eyes and fell back again.

"Easy, don't move." Tony said, noticing that Peter was shivering now.

"It hurts a lot. I can't-I can't breathe properly." Peter said as panic flooded over him.

Natasha looked to Tony and frowned, and then looked back to Peter. "You got hit." She said, and Tony looked clenched his jaw.

Peter coughed again and felt something around his lips. He lifted his hand and touched his mouth. Blood. "Am I dying?" He asked in fear.

"No." Tony said instantly, and it wasn't only for Peter's comfort.

"We've been here for an hour. He's bleeding, and he's a child, we have to get him out." Natasha said, looking over to Peter, who was now just staring at the ceiling hazily.

"If I take him they'll...", his voice cracked. "Peter." Tony said in concern.

 _"It seems he's caught an infection._ " Friday spoke from within the suit. Tony put on the faceplate and took another look.

"Come on, buddy, you lasted this long." He said to Peter.

With every blink, Peter felt his vision worsen. He was in pain. A lot of pain.

 _"Shit! Did you just-damnit!" The second robber yelled when Ben collapsed on to the floor._

 _Peter froze, looking at the man who had just fired the gun. His breathing was getting faster and he could hear his heart thud against his chest. He choked a cry when he looked over to Ben, who was on the floor._

 _"No!" He yelled, dropping next to his uncle._

 _Ben tried covering the wound with both hands and gasped for air. "This isn't your fault."_

 _"You weren't supposed to shoot him! What the hell is wrong with you!"_

 _"I didn't-I thought he was gonna jump you, dude-I-shit!" The other one responded._

 _"Please don't die." Peter cried, grabbing a scarf that had fallen off the rack and helping Ben apply pressure._

 _"What do we do? He's seen me."_

 _"If you're implying we kill the kid, you're outta your damn mind! You already freakin' murdered the dad!"_

 _"Ben! Wake up, Ben!" Peter sobbed as Ben's head fell to the side. He waved his hand in front of the mouth but there was nothing there. "No," he said softly "you can't be dead."_

 _It couldn't be happening - first his parents, now Ben? How could that happen? How could someone be that unlucky?_

 _Peter looked up at the two and frowned. Before anyone could say anything, another shot fired. Within the millisecond, he dodged forwards and avoided the hit._

 _"What the hell." The shooter murmured._

 _"Are you serious?"_

 _Peter stared for a few seconds before his eyes blurred and his head felt heavy. He looked around but couldn't see anything properly. He squinted and moved away from Ben, taking his glasses off._

 _"Run." The more stable one said in the back._

 _The attacker remained in his position. "They'll catch us." He looked at Peter, who was squinting and holding his glasses in his hand._

 _"Okay! Okay. I have the car keys - kid said car was unlocked. We'll take him and figure things out." The masked one replied._

 _The other one nodded and grabbed Peter by the shoulders. Peter frowned and kicked him twice, sending him tumbling against the wall._

 _"Get him!" He yelled from the floor as Peter headed for the door, tripping on his way there from how fast he took the two steps._

 _Sirens blared in the back, and everyone looked alarmed. Peter looked towards the door, where both the thieves were also looking. One of them ran towards him and he jumped. He jumped so high he found himself looking down at the pair from the wall. The wall?_

 _"He's a freak! What the hell is he?" The unmasked one stared in horror, and Peter jumped on to him from above and knocked him, while the other one ran out._

When he woke up again he was delirious. He coughed again, and clenched his jaw and pushed his head back against the ground in pain.

"Careful." Tony said with more worry in his voice than he'd ever shown before. "His fever's getting worse."

"Tony." Natasha looked up to him and then down. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"I have more pressing matters to deal with at the moment." Tony said coldly, "Friday, update." He said, keeping his metal hand dead still on the wound to keep the pressure.

" _He will likely die from the infection within the next two hours_."

Tony instantly moved his hand towards his head and the suit opened from there as he ran it through his hair in worry.

There was a small crash in the corner of the room. Tony and Natasha turned to look, and Peter tilted his head to his left a little.

Vision walked calmly towards them and kept his eyes mostly on Peter. "Are you-"

 _"-okay? Is there anyone I can call for you?" The policeman asked as Peter sat on the edge of the ambulance with his legs kicking slowly in the air._

 _"May. My aunt-the other lady called her." Peter croaked, clenching his fists as the paramedic put another blanket around him and smiled sympathetically. The police officer nodded in pity, putting a hand on his shoulder._

 _Ten minutes had barely passed when May's car pulled up haphazardly behind a few police cars. She got out instantly, slamming the door as her eyes searched the scene for Peter or Ben._

 _She stopped a passing officer, "I'm looking for my husband. Ben? Ben Parker. My nephew called-Peter-where is-where are they?" May stammered, tears in her eyes._

 _"Mrs Parker." The officer said in surprise, "I'm sorry. Your husband died on the scene. I'm so sorry."_

 _May shook her head in disbelief, "no. Check-check again-you have to-," she broke down, leaning back against one of the cars and holding her head._

 _"Your nephew is here." The officer interrupted, taking hold of May._

 _"Is he-"_

 _"He's alive." The man reassured, pointing her to Peter. She nodded and made her way over._

 _"Peter." She said, and Peter turned his face and froze. May sighed with relief and pulled him in for a hug._

 _"I love you. I love you so much, I'm so happy you're-you're okay." She cried, tightening her hold. She let him go when she noticed he wasn't hugging back. "Peter-"_

 _"It was my fault. I shouldn't have gone in." Peter told her, moving away from her._

 _"What?"_

 _"He was inside with them-they weren't gonna hurt him! I went in and-and he tried to protect me and they killed him-they-" He broke into a cry, and May pulled him closer._

 _"Oh Peter, this is not your fault. This was them. This can never be your fault." She stroked his hair as he cried against her. "Don't ever blame yourself for this." She kept saying it, because she knew how difficult it was going to be on him. "You and me, we'll figure it out." She whispered when he quietened down._

"We'll figure it out." Peter repeated to himself in his dreamy state.

"I have secured the back." Vision said, "it is our only way out."

"How long do we have once we're there?" Tony asked, glancing at Peter.

"Seven minutes. Once we're out, there should be a small aircraft waiting for us." Vision said to Tony, who looked over to Natasha, who was eyeing the ceiling.

"I'm not leaving you here." Tony said.

"I can't go."

"You'll die."

"I never die." She replied.

They both stared at each other for a few seconds before Tony got ready to move with a scoff.

"You're not invincible" Tony said, looking up at her again as she frowned.

"Neither are you." She replied, "get going, you don't have long."

Tony shook his head and bent down next to Peter. "Come on, Spiderling." He said softly, putting his metal arm under his head and slowly lifting him.

"You'll be al-"

 _"-right. Okay? They'll help us move within the week and we'll stay at the motel down the road from the new place." May said in the car. Peter's head was leaning against the window. "It's an apartment on the other side of Queens. You'll like it." May said, trying to get him to talk._

 _"Okay." Peter said quietly, and she sighed._

 _"I told you, we'll be alright."_

 _The half-hour long drive came to a half pretty soon, and Peter got out instantly, waiting for May to head in so that he could follow._

 _She got the rooms sorted and they headed to their rooms. "It feels like a road trip or something." She said, trying to cheer him up._

 _Peter waited until they got inside, shutting the door behind him. "May. I know you're upset." He said, and she turned to him after setting some bags down._

 _"Peter-"_

 _"You can't think it's not my fault." He continued tensing up._

 _"I don't." She said sternly, "so don't you dare say that again." She warned, exhaling and shaking her head as she took a seat on one of the beds. "Me and you are family. Family, Peter. So if you think for one second I'll ever leave you or let you out of my sights you're wrong. We stick together, we get through this." She said, keeping her eyes mostly on the carpet._

 _"I love you, May."_

 _"I love you more." She replied, looking to him and smiling, and then squinting. "Where are your glasses?" She asked._

 _"What?" He moved his hands up to his head and remembered the apartment. "I don't know."_

 _"Check your pockets. I didn't notice it was dark-wait here I'll go back and get the spare ones-"_

 _"May-"_

 _"It's okay, they're in my drawer, I know where they are-"_

 _"May, I don't need them!" Peter squealed like a child._

 _"You don't need them? Are you wearing lenses? You said you hated-"_

 _"I mean I can see without glasses." He interrupted, and she looked at him even more confusedly._

 _"Without your-how? How can-is that even possible? You needed them this morning, how can you not-"_

 _"I don't know. When Be...everything just changed. I don't need them."_

 _"Yeah? How many fingers am I holding up?" May tested suspiciously as she held up her hand._

 _"Three." He said, and she motioned for him to move further back and did it again. "Two. See?"_

 _"That's amazing." She said in surprise, smiling genuinely. "Now you'll look less nerdy." She added._

 _He frowned, "May!"_

 _"I'm kidding. Get some sleep, Peter." She told him, grabbing her towel out of the bag and heading to the washroom._

 _He watched her go and fell onto his bed. He stared under the opposite bed for a few minutes and then got up again._

 _He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at his hands in anxiety. He looked up at the door - May was still showering. Five minutes wouldn't hurt. He scribbled a little note and made his way out._

 _It was dark and slightly windy, but warm. He shut the door behind him and walked down the side along the other doors. Only a few lights were still open. He looked into the distance and could see everything, which made him smile and jolt back. It was amazing. He'd never felt that excitement before of seeing everything so clearly. Within a few seconds he felt his eyes blur a little, and squinted to stop them._

 _He continued to walk down and stopped when he reached the end of the rooms. He looked back around at the small wall. It was only a few meters high. He moved forwards and took a big breath, placing his hand on it. He pulled back - it was stuck._

 _"What the hell." He whispered, placing the other one a little higher. He climbed up and hopped onto the edge. "What." He whispered, looking down at the ground. He frowned and his eyes widened when he realised._

 _He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and felt around the area. The spider-bite was gone. "I'm a spider." He said in confusion and surprise quietly. He was focused on it when he miraculously heard the water that had been running stop. He looked down again and jumped, landing on his feet._

 _He made his way back, grabbing the key he's taken from his pocket and opening the door. The note was on the bed and he took it before May came out._

 _"What are you doing?" May interrupted._

 _"Nothing."_

 _She noticed the key and noted "is that for me? You can't go out, Peter, who knows the type of people hanging around-"_

 _"I'm right here." He smiled, stuffing the note in his pocket and putting the keys down._

 _"You better be."_

Peter opened his eyes slowly to white, and the smell of disinfectant. _The hospital smell_ , he conclude

"Look whose awake." Someone said, and Peter turned his head to see May on the chair.

"I'm so glad you're here." He whispered, his voice unable to go much higher.

She gave him a sympathetic look, "don't do that again. You scared me."

She sat by him for half an hour, talking and telling him stories about when he was younger. Midway one of them, she had a sudden look of realisation, "someone else wants to see you." She got up and kissed his forehead before making her way out.

The door opened within two minutes, and he saw Tony walk in.

"Mr Stark." Peter said aloud, watching him smile briefly before taking a seat.

He didn't talk for the first minute, and Peter looked straight at him with his usual excited and confused face, making the situation even more uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you're okay." Tony finally spoke, and Peter nodded.

"Me too." He said, and looked away.

"You were talking a lot last night." Tony said, and Peter's eyes narrowed.

"About what?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders, "telling us to 'help him'", he said. "You lost a lot of blood."

Peter thought about it for a few seconds, ignoring the second part of the sentence, and It hit him. Ben. He was talking about Ben.

"I called May-",

Tony watched Peter's eyes get lost in the thought and then his face instantly switch from normal to upset and hurt.

"Peter." Tony interrupted his chain of thoughts by waving his hand in front of his face.

"Yeah?" Peter said innocently, inhaling like he was about to break down.

Tony contemplated even asking, and decided to do just that. "Who was it?"

"I don't-"

"You don't have to tell me, but you can." Tony said softly.

Peter fidgeted and pursed his lips. "Uncle Ben. He died a year ago." Peter said, realising this was the one person he could tell everything to, as much as he loved May.

Tony looked at him as he turned his head and stared into the distance. "And you think it's your fault? It's not." Tony said in his know-it-all tone.

Peter looked up and frowned in anger, "It is my fault. I went up to the-the apartment-," he stopped when his voice cracked, and Tony's heart hurt to see him like that, "-I shouldn't have." He had tears in his eyes and he looked ahead. "They said they wouldn't have shot him-he-he wanted me to leave and I moved." Peter said, and he knew it would hardly be making sense to someone who didn't know what happened.

"Parker, there isn't a single scenario here where that could've been your fault." Tony said, moving up in his chair.

Peter shook his head in disagreement. "If I hadn't-"

"You can't live your life thinking about the 'what-ifs'. It's not a way to live." Tony advised, because he wished someone had said that to him all those years ago.

"May probably thinks it."

"If she did, she wouldn't have camped out here for the last week for you." He countered, "and the only reason you don't tell her this is because you know she'll tell you it's not your fault. You're fifteen. Stop making things more complicated than they have to be." He said standing up and patting Peter's head.

"Thanks." Peter said, because this was the one time talking about that night made him feel better instead of worse."

"And stop trying to get killed too." Tony smirked, and Peter laughed a little.

* * *

And for the last chapter - the hallucinations were supposed to be because of sleep deprivation - sorry for the confusion :/

Also, I want to add that it's hard to write a lot of h/c into the prompts I'm being given recently, so if you want to see less of that and more normal day to day stuff, can you leave that in the reviews? Because these stories are supposed to be h/c and if you want other type of prompts I can definitely make another collection. Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9: He's Fine

"I've never seen one before." Peter squinted, holding the glowing object in his hand.

Tony snatched it out of his hands and frowned, "and you don't need to." He inspected it himself and put his faceplate on. "Friday?"

" _It seems to be an explosive."_ Friday informed, and Tony nearly jumped.

"A what?" He shrieked, "Friday, there's hundreds of people-"

" _I'd recommend-"_

Friday was cut off by the blast when the object in Tony's hand shattered into tiny pieces. Tony gasped as he felt himself uncontrollably catapult backwards. He hit the wall with force and the last thing he heard was the metal on the suit crunching.

Rhodey went the opposite direction with Vision, and both landed on the floor unconsciously.

A few minutes passed before Peter woke up. He coughed and for the first minute, it was too painful to even move. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes for a few minutes trying to catch his breath.

He moved to his side and shifted back against the wall, putting his hands on the rubble and dragging himself up. There was a stabbing pain in his side, and he looked down to see a piece of glass sticking out.

He coughed again, looking up for the first time. It was smokey and he couldn't see anyone. He looked back down at his side and clenched his teeth, taking hold of the glass with both hands and pulling it out slowly.

"Ka-Karen?" He wheezed, "Karen!"

" _Yes-yes-yes, Peter._ "

"Are you-you okay?" He frowned when he heard her falter. She was a machine, she wasn't supposed to do that.

" _My systems seem to be-be-be damaged._ " Karen stammered, and Peter closed his eyes and threw his head back against the wall.

"Did-what did the glass do?" He said with a hoarse voice when he felt a jolt of pain near the injury.

" _I would recommend stitching that up quickly-quickly."_ Karen suggested.

Peter scoffed and shook his head, "I can't. How…like, how bad is it?" He asked.

" _There is no damage to any internal organs, but you have lost a lot of blood. You could pass-"_

"Okay, okay. Thanks, Karen." He cut her off, wiping his hands against his chest to get the blood off. "That's useless information, but thanks." He whispered, coughing again as he fidgeted.

He moved to his left and stuck his hand on the larger boulders to lift himself up. He looked around, "Mr Stark!" He yelled, moving down against the wall. "Vision!"

On the other side of the warehouse, Tony gasped awake, slamming his metal hand against his chest in panic. He tried lifting his head but fell back again.

"Friday! Friday!" He yelled, feeling a painful jolt go up his spine.

" _My visual and auditory system's seem to be down, sir."_ Friday replied, and Tony lifted up his hand and fiddled with the side of his face until the faceplate opened up to take a breath.

"What's-what's damaged? Am I paralysed?" Tony frowned as his heart raced.

" _No, you should be able to move. I can see a head injury and two broken ribs."_ Friday informed, and Tony coughed as he moved backwards to try and stand.

"Who else is-is here." Tony said quietly.

" _My visual system is damaged._ " Friday repeated, and Tony muttered something under his breath as he got up and stomped forwards in the suit.

" _I_ can see. That's enough." He mumbled, scanning the area for someone. Peter. Damn. "Peter!"

"Mr Stark?" Peter replied from what seemed to be miles away.

Tony tried to look in the right direction but it was difficult, especially because his suit was no help. "Tell me the thrusters work."

" _One seems to be-"_

"Three's enough." He tried them all and thankfully, only his right hand wasn't working. He glided across to the other side before another one stopped working and he tripped forwards.

"Parker!" Tony yelled when he spotted Peter next to the wall.

"Ohmy-is everyone else-what was that? It was crazy!" Peter stammered, slumping against the wall when he saw Tony walk towards him.

Tony waved his hand "calm it. Are you hurt?" He tried inspecting him, "Friday's down, I can't tell."

"I'm fine." Peter said, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Where are the others?" He squinted, looking around.

Tony looked to where Peter was staring, "not with me. I haven't-"

"You're insane!" A voice called from behind, and both Tony turned around to see Rhodey limping towards him. "Are you okay?"

Tony raised his eyebrows, "I'm fine."

Rhodey nodded, "then you're insane. You've gone absolutely-"

"I told you to stay at home." Tony cut in, shrugging his shoulders.

"Why, you come here _expecting_ to die?" Rhodey argued, glancing at Peter, "and you brought _him_." He looked at him accusingly.

"For the record, I told _both_ of you not to come." Tony said, glancing at them both.

Peter lifted up his hand, "I gave you the lead!" He complained, shifting to his left to relieve the pain.

"Take it easy, Spider." Rhodey said worriedly when he saw him hunch over, "is that blood?"

"No. No, it's not." Peter said defensively, and Tony looked over instantly. "I'm fine." Peter repeated.

"Where's Vision?" Tony looked behind Rhodey.

"I don't know?"

"He was with you-I saw you both-" he made a catapulting gesture, "-in the same direction."

"I didn't see him there."

Tony froze for a second - Vision was probably the last piece of Jarvis he had left. "He's a-a machine, he's not supposed to-he should be-," he took a breath and frowned.

"Tony. He's probably here somewhere." Rhodey said in concern when he saw him panic.

"I am okay." Vision interrupted as he walked over some rubble behind Peter, who was startled. "That was just unexpected." He continued, and Tony sighed in relief.

"Is your suit working?" Tony turned to Rhodey, who shook his head.

"Nothing's working. Which is surprising since you're the one who was holding that thing." Rhodey frowned.

"Then step out, you look like a can of crushed tomato soup." Tony eyed his wrecked suit - it was a surprise he wasn't injured.

Rhodey looked at him with an irritated look across his face, "that doesn't even make sense, you're the one wearing red."

"That doesn't matter-"

"It does matter, because tomato soup can's are-"

"The people." Peter interrupted after staring at the ground for a minute.

Tony glared at him with a baffled look, "what?"

"You said there were hundreds of people before…", he trailed off with a look of fear across his face.

Tony nodded, "they were told to evacuate an hour before. I meant around the area, but it didn't do a lot of damage." Tony motioned around the area. Only the building they were in was damaged, and it was a warehouse, and the walls were still standing.

"We were wrong." Vision said, appearing in the opposite corner he was in last time.

Rhodey frowned, "what does that mean? And where were you?"

"There were five more, on every fifth floor on the opposite corporate building." Vision informed, and everyone looked to each other.

Tony laughed humourlessly. "That's impossible. The signals were only coming from here, I checked-"

"They were activated later on." Vision said, turning around.

The others followed him across the broken structure to the door, which Vision opened. They all looked up at the building.

"No." Tony whispered, "no, this wasn't supposed to happen." He looked at the fires breaking out, people screaming and the flock of ambulances on the ground floor.

"We have to help them-we have to gather the-the objects." Peter said a little out of breath.

"I can-I can probably get to the top floor." Tony said, looking upwards. "So can Vision."

"I can help near the bottom." Peter added, "get them out."

"You don't look so good, first get-"

"I'm fine." He said, and he knew the only reason he was even standing straight was because of the adrenaline.

"Let's go then."

* * *

"My daughter. She's-oh my-she's inside! I brought her to work-", the woman broke off into a cry.

"I can get to her, ma'am, what's her name?"

"Zina, it's Zina." The woman said as two paramedics took her away and two more followed him. "Please hurry!"

Peter nodded and disappeared down the hall with them, squeezing through the gap and ending up inside what looked like a square. It was dark, and there was smoke and cement everywhere. "We'll be here for the child!" One of them shouted from across the gap.

"Zina!" Peter shouted, coughing and holding back a cry when he pulled on his side. He leaned back against a wall and took out the bandage he'd taken from the paramedic. He unrolled it with shaking hands and folded it up, pushing it under the cut in his suit and leaving it on the cut, which was still bleeding. "You're okay." He shook his hands and clenched his fists, leaning off and getting back. "Zina!" He yelled again.

"I'm here!" A small voice shouted, and Peter instantly turned his head towards the direction. "Help me!"

"Where are you?" Peter asked softly.

"Here!" The voice said again, and he swung onto the other side of a wall to find the young girl. "Is my mom here?"

Peter froze when he saw her. "N-no. She's-she's outside, she's waiting for me to get you." He answered, looking at her leg, which was trapped under the collapsed ceiling.

"But I can't move my leg. How will I get to her?" She asked with a pained face.

"It's okay, I'll get you out."

"Are you Spider-Man?" She asked, and Peter smiled.

"Yep. And you're Zina. How old are you?"

"Seven, but I'm nearly eight." She answered, and Peter looked around the ceiling.

"Can you feel your foot?"

"Yes."

He crouched down and looked past her leg. Thankfully she wasn't _trapped_ trapped. "I'm gonna lift this up, and you move your leg as soon as I do. Okay?" Peter looked over to her.

"Uh huh." She nodded while frowning. "But it's heavy." She warned.

"We can do it." Peter grabbed it from both sides and looked back to Zina. "Ready?"

"Ready." Zina said.

Peter lifted it up with allis strength and watched the young girl pull her leg from the side. He gasped as he smashed it back down and leaned against it in pain.

"Are you okay? I told you it was heavy."

"You were right." Peter said quietly and out of breath as he turned to face her. "You have a cut on your head, can you feel it?" He asked, moving forwards to look at it.

"I can't feel it." She shrugged her shoulders.

"That's not a good thing." Peter said in the 'parent' voice. He looked up where he'd jumped from. "Hold on." He picked her up and webbed over.

"Woah." She said in surprise.

"Squeeze through there." He instructed when they reached the gap. She fidgeted and stared at the opening. "Zina."

"It's small. What if I get stuck?"

"You won't get-it's big enough. Come on." She didn't budge. "There are doctors on the other side just for you." He nudged her a little and she stepped into the gap and within a few seconds she was out.

He heard the paramedics fuss and lead her out. He looked back at the gap and moved in but there was a rumbling sound. He looked up and watched the supporting structure crumbled, and jumped back.

He jumped back and watched it collapse. "Karen!" He shouted angrily, "where-where-", he broke off into a coughing fit. "Find me a way out."

" _You will not be able to lift your way out in your condition, how-_ "

" _Peter?"_ Tony's voice cut in.

"Mr Stark?" Peter frowned, looking around his dark surroundings.

" _The building's evacuated. Where the hell are you?_ "

"Evacuated? It's only been like…", he paused and tried thinking bak to how long he'd been here.

" _Two hours, Parker, we've been here for two hours. Where are you?"_ Tony emphasised on the question again, clearly irritated. " _If you're home-"_

"No-I'm not-why would I be home?" Peter replied in a frustrated tone.

" _Okay?"_ Tony said again, prompting for him to continue. " _Peter!"_ He yelled down the intercom when Peter didn't reply.

"I don't know!" Peter shouted, slumping against the wall.

" _You don't-what do you mean you don't know? Are you inside the building?"_

"Yes." His voice cracked, "I'm inside."

" _Which floor? Do you remember which-"_

Peter shook his head, holding the nose of the bridge. "The tenth? Eleventh? I don't-don't know. It's all-all over the place." He shook his head.

" _Are you hurt?"_ Tony asked instantly, and Peter looked down at the make-do bandage which was soaking with blood now.

"A little."

" _How much is a little?_ "

"There was this piece of glass in the warehouse and I-I took it out-"

" _You told me-you lied. I don't-how can I find you! Ask Karen to-"_

His rant was cut off when the ground under him shifted again and he looked up to see a huge pillar swing down his way. He moved back and got ready to push it off but it him him. Too quickly - he didn't have time to move or push and it fell right on top.

He gasped when he woke up this time, and this time Tony was screaming down the intercom. He squinted at the volume and took a few quick breaths as he tried to move.

"I'm-I'm here." He sniffled, realising he had tears in his eyes.

" _We'll find you, Peter._ " Tony reassured.

Peter instantly moved his hands under his face, which was facing the floor and making him breathe in smoke and dust. He tried lifting himself up and yelled in pain.

" _What is it?_ " Tony asked, but Peter didn't hear. He turned his head painfully to see that he was basically buried, and he was nowhere near strong enough to pull himself out.

He faced the floor again and his heart started racing. He was trapped. He felt the pain near his side get stronger and moved one of his hands near it.

" _Tell me you're not under all of this."_ Tony said quietly.

"I am. I'm under-I'm gonna die." He whispered, closing his eyes tightly when there was another jolt of pain in his chest this time. "I can't even breathe-"

" _You can breathe. Just keep talking, we'll keep-",_ he stopped, and Peter heard Rhodey say something. " _No, no. You shouldn't be talking."_ Tony corrected, " _you'll be okay."_

 _"_ You don't know that." Peter said pessimistically.

"I can't feel my legs." Peter said, breaking off into a cry. "I shouldn't have-why did I go in?" He cried into his arm.

" _Peter, I said-"_

"Just get me out." He said quietly.

" _I'm-I'll find you-we're looking, Peter-do you see anything?"_

"No, no, it's all-all black-you don't even know-"

" _Stop panicking."_ Tony said.

"Karen just end the call." He said out of breath and irritated.

" _Peter, don't you_ -"

Karen cut in, " _Peter, I wouldn't recommend-"_

"Karen turn it off. Turn off the intercom!" He clenched his fists.

Tony tried again," _Peter-"_

" _Intercom turned off. Peter, you need to get medical attention straight away."_

"Send-send a message to May. Say-uh-tell her I love her. I love her a lot." He said, because at that moment that was all he could think of saying. "I can't-", he clenched his jaw as he felt a wave of tears. "

It was quiet. He could hear himself breathe, and things crumble away in the back. He looked down towards his feet and watched the pool of blood.

" _Falling asleep with a head injury is not a good idea."_ Karen advised. _Head injury?_ He lifted his shaking hand and ran it over the mask until he felt that damp part. He brought it up to his face and saw the blood and then had a dizzy spell.

His vision blurred and he squinted as his eyes but he was having difficulty staying awake. He grabbed his mask with both hands and desperately took it off in an attempt to help him breathe, but it didn't help because he slipped into unconsciousness in no time.

* * *

"-telling a fourteen year old who is trapped under a building _not_ to worry?" Rhodey asked bewildered. "Understand his point of view."

"We've been looking for fifteen minutes. He's gone, he won't help, I don't even know where he could possibly be."

Rhodey looked around the crumbled mess, "why don't we wait for someone?" He suggested, and Tony stopped in his tracks.

"We're not waiting for anyone." He shook his head with his mind made up.

Rhodey scoffed, "Tony, your-your suit's broken - you can't see anything. How do you expect to find him? Look I told Vision-"

"I haven't got time." Tony brushed him off and kept going.

They spent another twenty minutes looking when Rhodey stopped and sat back on the rubble. He sighed in exhaustion and watched Tony throw away scraps as he dug under more debris. He coughed and turned his head left and saw the glimpse of red.

He looked back to Tony and bent down, using his suit to push back a slab. His heart started racing as he finally lifted it away to the side. He grabbed the red and swore under his breath. A red scarf. He scoffed and clenched his fists as he threw it to the side.

"I found him! Rhodey, what are you doing!" Tony shouted from behind, and Rhodey instantly looked up to see Tony on his knees a few meters ahead. He looked down at the scarf again before making his way over.

"I'm here, I'm-" he froze when he saw Peter. He looked dead, and he didn't look like he was breathing - his right hand was scrunched into a fist and his left one under his head.

"Is he…you know."

"He's alive." Tony said quickly, pulling his hand away from over Peter's face. "We're here." He said to Peter as he got ready to release Peter.

"Slowly. It could be stabbing him or something." Rhodey warned as Tony got ready to push the pillar off.

Tony nodded, clearing his throat as he slowly lifted up the pillar and put it down on the other side, instantly kneeling down next to Peter.

"Peter?" He said, holding him by the shoulders. His own heart was thudding against his chest, because this was a situation he really, _really_ didn't want to be in. Ever.

" _Mark forty-six arriving in three, two, one._ " Friday informed, and Tony turned his head to see his other suit arriving at his location. He let go of Peter reluctantly and stepped out of his suit and got into the next one.

He quickly made his way back and held onto Peter, lifting him up and immediately looking away from the blood. He got ready to take off and turned his head to Tony.

"I-you-"

"I'll find a way back. Go. Take him." Rhodey said, watching him take off.

* * *

The third time he woke up, he wasn't in pain. He frowned and looked at the ceiling before glancing around the room. It was dark, and no one was there. He looked out the window - it had to be the middle of the night. The only light was from the corridors outside. He sighed and stared at the balloons and bears in the corner. _Ned, MJ_ and _Happy_ were the names that stood out in the front.

He contemplated getting up and checking around, but decided against it, since he'd already ended up here with the series of bad decisions he'd made.

"Look whose awake."

Peter tuned his head to see May walking in with a glass of water in her hand. Peter smiled.

"You want the lights on?"

"No." Peter said, because the rays from the corridors through the window and open door was enough.

"Are you okay? Any pain?"

"No."

"Let's get into this then. What was that?"

Peter opened his mouth in surprise, "May-"

"No, you don't get to 'May' me. You realise how scared I was?" She asked as she walked to him.

Peter exhaled, "I know-"

"No, you don't know." May teared up. "I can't even begin to explain." She shook her head in disappointment.

Peter looked down ashamed. "Sorry."

"What did we agree on?" She asked, and he looked up reluctantly. "Peter! What did-"

"I wouldn't do anything dangerous." He said in a high-pitched tone.

"And you thought going in there injured wasn't dangerous?" She put her hand over her mouth, "you could've died."

"I was trying to help!" Peter said defensively.

"And who was going to help me when I got a phonemail saying-" she stopped and her hand was over her mouth again as she stopped herself from crying.

"Sorry."

"Why do you do that? You're so-don't be so careless." She said, frowning as she sat down on the chair and took his hand. "Please be careful."

"I will. Promise." He said, and he had the feeling that he'd said those exact words to her before.

"Tony Stark shouldn't have let you go." She said, shaking her head in disagreement over his decision, "he knows you're fifteen-"

"It wasn't his fault. I asked to go."

"And he should have the sense to say no." She argued.

Peter looked at her, "May, none of us knew what was going to happen."

May nodded, "I mean he's the adult-"

"May."

"Okay. Okay, fine." She said, putting up both hands.

"Is…uh-everyone asleep?" Peter asked, bringing up his hand to the back of his head.

"No. No, they're all-um-outside. In the living room." She nodded her head, "no one's sleeping." She said quietly.

"Was-were they mad?"

May scoffed lightly, "mad? Have you ever seen Iron Man cry?" She said in a happy tone.

Peter looked up with a scowl. " _Cry?_ "

"I'm kidding!" She moved back in her chair. "He was close to it though." She looked to the floor. "Do you wanna talk-"

"No-no."

"I think you do." She said, standing up and pushing the chair to the side. She turned to leave and came back again, kissing him on the forehead and then patting his shoulder before leaving.

He watched her leave and waited a few minutes, leaning his head back.

"Don't you look so much better when you're not being crushed by a building." Tony said sarcastically as he stopped at the door.

Peter pursed his lips and waited for him to continue. "I should've said something."

"Damn right you should have said something." Tony walked in, "I asked you. I asked you several-"

"I thought I was okay."

"No." He said, shaking his head, "no-that wasn't for you to decide."

Peter started scratching the back of his head. "I didn't know."

"That is why I asked!" Tony said, trying not to get too loud. "You're not coming again."

"I'm not-I saved people. I saved that girl! No one would've seen her and I got to her!" Peter argued, knowing he wasn't making sense.

"Girl? What girl?" Tony asked in confusion, "it doesn't matter-"

"It does matter! She was like seven. _You_ wouldn't have found her." Peter stared at him agape.

"I wouldn't have found you. I didn't want to be looking for you, and I sure as hell didn't wanna pick up a few rocks and find you half dead. That's what _I_ didn't want."

Peter broke their gaze and turned his face away from Tony. The darkness was making it much easier to hide the awkwardness. "Okay." He whispered, "I should've been smarter."

Tony sighed, putting one hand in his pocket. "Don't do it again." He said, tapping his right foot on the floor. "Especially because your Aunt is-you know."

"She's scary." Peter added.

Tony shook his head, "not-not scary-"

"A little scary."

"A little scary." He smiled, "and I think she's waiting to get back in." He pointed vaguely towards the door.

* * *

Thanks for the awesome reviews! This was for the prompt by JinsTales.

The next three stories will be for:

BeautifulKnight

Guest

Nindragon


	10. Chapter 10

This is somewhere in between a fight scene in Infinity War where Peter's trapped and hurt.

* * *

"Mr Stark?" Peter whispered in the intercom, painstakingly waiting for a response, which didn't come. "Tony!" He said a little louder, but no so loud as to attract attention.

When no one replied, he leaned back against the car he'd been hiding behind with his right hand pressed against his shoulder blade.

"Karen? How long's it been?" He said, closing his eyes from the pain.

 _"It has been an hour, Peter. You should look to get medical attention._ " Karen advised.

Peter scoffed, "does it look like-" he stopped himself and shook his head, leaning it forwards against his left hand in panic. "I don't know where they are. Do you?" He asked, turning his head to see straight through the car, but no sign of anyone moving, or his teammates.

" _No. I have lost connection_." Karen told him, and at that moment, he wanted to start crying. He was bleeding, there was a bullet in his shoulder somewhere, and he didn't know where anyone else was. And to top it off, Karen kept telling him to 'get medical attention'.

He stopped a cough when he heard something move to his left. Before he could turn his head, the figure appeared. He moved both hands up before he saw it was.

"Easy! Easy! It's me! Ant-Man." Scott whispered proudly, his eyes widening at the sight of Peter. "You're the small dude who took me down."

Peter stared at him in surprise before he spoke, "yeah." Was all he managed to say.

"Yeah, yeah, Spider-Kid." Scott said, eyeing Peter's injury.

"Spider- _Man_ ," Peter corrected, because he was on the news a lot and so, was it so hard for everyone to get the name right instead of adding any random word after Spider? _Seriously_?

Scott nodded his head, "right. Spider-Man." He continued nodding until the nodding slowly turned into a discontented head shake, "wouldn't kid be better? I mean you're a child."

"Wouldn't it be better if you stopped talking?" Peter said harshly, wincing as he brought up his other hand to his shoulder.

Scott looked at him suspiciously, "where are the others?"

"Does it look like I know? Would I be-"

"Sorry! Calm down. Is that-you get a cut?" Scott said, looking at the shoulder again.

"I got _shot_." He said, but none of his anger seemed to be showing because of how quiet they had to speak.

Scott's eyes widened, "shot? What the-let me see." He offered, moving closer while Peter fidgeted away. "Spider, let me see!" He demanded worriedly.

"I don't even know you. I'm not _letting_ you see anything." Peter frowned, and he could hear how rude and defensive he sounded but he was in pain, and that was a good enough excuse in his mind.

Scott sighed, "I know how to take care of this sort of stuff." He said, raising his eyebrows. "I was in-"

Peter shook his head, "you nearly killed me last time you touched me." He said in the loudest whisper-volume there was.

"We were fighting on different-" he stopped talking and looked down, "maybe what I did was a little reckless." He said, "but we're on the same team today. Let me see." He said, and Peter looked away from him and then nodded. .

"Is it still bleeding?" Peter asked, looking away from the wound as Scott touched around it.

"Yes. Wearing red makes it hard to tell though, Spidey, ever consider changing colours?" He asked, taking out something from his pocket.

Peter shook his head 'no', "that's the whole point. Your enemies can't see." Peter explained, and Scott looked up to him like he'd said something mind-blowing.

"Okay then." Scott mumbled in response, pressing something against the bullet-wound. "I have a daughter." He said dumbly, trying his hardest to relate to the teenager.

Peter looked up, "really?". He asked, but he already knew the answer.

They looked at each other before Scott spoke, "uh, yeah." He confirmed, "she's a lot younger than you though. I haven't seen her in a while." He said, looking past Peter and at the car as he got lost in deep thoughts.

"Hey, Ant-Guy." Peter waved his hand in front of Scott, who looked up instantly as he snapped out of this thoughts.

Scott frowned, "isn't it hard to breathe in that thing?" He pointed at the mask. "It's all stuck to your face."

Peter's eyes narrowed, "no. I can breathe just fine."

"Okay." He said, sighing and sitting back against the car with Peter as they both waited. He was just trying to make conversation, and Peter was making things very hard.

'Feeling uncomfortable' was an understatement for Peter. He hardly knew this guy, and the only time they'd met was when they were on opposite teams and trying to hurt each other.

"Can I at least know your name?" He turned to look at Peter as he asked the question in a way that made it sound like he'd put a lot of thought into it.

"No." Peter said quickly, "I'm not telling you my name." He had a shiver down in his spine and then a jolt of pain in his shoulder and squinted.

"This is-that's-how about we exchange names?" Scott offered, raising his eyebrows.

Peter looked at him incredulously, "that doesn't even make-you're not a secret. Everyone knows who you are."

Scott scoffed, "that's not-that's not true. You don't." He pointed out with a smirk.

"Scott Lang." Peter said, smiling under the suit because the hours of memorising the Avengers files that Tony made him study had finally came in handy. "And you just told me you have a daughter. Her name's Cassie."

"I didn't tell you her name, smarty-pants." He said as if he'd been attacked.

Peter nodded, "it's all in your file."

"My _file_? I have a file?" He moved closer towards Peter, who leaned a little backwards. He thought about it for a second, "what else does it say?" He asked in a hurry.

Peter exhaled, "I don't know, can you just-just fly out in your little Ant suit and get us out?" Peter asked, because he really was in no mood to start discussing Ant-Man's life while he was possibly dying.

"No, I can't. It's broken." Scott said disappointedly.

"Broken? Aren't you kinda screwed then?"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me." Scott said mimicking him, leaning back against the car and poking his head outwards to the left. "These damn things - I don't even know where the hell they are." He said as he pulled himself back in next to Peter.

Peter looked down, "we can't get out." He realised, holding the back of his head with his hand. "We'll die here-"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." He said, sharing a glance with Peter, who was shaking his head in fear.

"What if they're all dead?" He said as his breathing got louder, "that's why no one's here." He said, his voice breaking out of a whisper for half a second.

"Spider, quiet! They're not dead." Scott reassured him, and he wasn't sure himself but the last thing he needed was a scared child in his hands. "You're shivering." He said, moving closer to inspect the wound he'd patched up and cringing.

"What? What-what is it?" Peter stammered with a hoarse voice.

He sounded worse already. "Little man, you okay?" Scott asked as Peter's breathing started to get uneven.

Peter opened his mouth to cough and Scott quickly moved in and put his own hand over his mouth. It was still pretty loud, but they'd been in the same position for half an hour and nothing had seemed to happen.

"Do you think you can move? We could try get to the last place I saw-"

Scott's suggestion was cut off by a huge crash right behind their car. He put on his mask quickly and mumbled a curse under his breath before moving to guard Peter. "We gotta go, Spider-Man." He stated, looking ahead at a smashed building. "Take cover in there." He said, looking back and calculating the distance. "It'll take about-" he shook his head, "-ten minutes, that leaves us in the open for two of them because the cars-"

Another closer crash disrupted his calculations. He exhaled, "okay, Thanos' army's gonna find us if we don't move." He looked at Peter, who was leaning back against in the car and barely awake.

"I ca-can't move." Peter muttered, tightly shutting his eyes because of the pain. The pain was agonising - he couldn't even move his left arm anymore.

Scott looked up over through the window and then ducked down, "Spidey, I have _not_ got time for you to go all suicidal, come on!" He urged, motioning Peter to move. Peter just stared ahead, and Scott put one hand on his head.

He secured his helmet and clenched his fists, glancing inside the car they'd been hiding behind. He nodded his head, "we can do this." He assured himself, stepping over Peter as he crouched down and opened the car door. No keys. "Seriously!" He shouted, "you take the keys? What the hell are you gonna do with the keys!" He yelled, shaking his head as he tried to hot-wire it.

It started. "You can get in this, can't you?" He looked at Peter as popped his head out of the window. "I know, I know it's painful but just two minutes." He said, "there's probably something…useful in there." He squinted as he looked at the building.

Peter frowned, "no."

" _No?_ That wasn't a question." Scott said irritatedly, opening the door and stepping out. He grabbed Peter's right arm and moved him out of the way, opening the back door, then helped him up - he was unusually light. He pushed Peter into the backseat and shut the door quickly, hurrying to the front seat.

The car practically skidded in front of the entrance within a minute. Scott looked to the backseat to check on Peter, before getting out and then pulling Peter out. On the plus side, the car was half-way inside the building so dodging the bullets was easier.

Peter was practically unconscious by the time they were out. Scott was dragging Peter across the first floor. He looked around and spotted the elevator. He grunted, walking as fast as he could with Peter on his side.

They entered swiftly and then the doors closed. Scott tapped his foot on the floor, waiting impatiently for the elevator to go to the sixth floor. "Before my intercom went out-" he looked over to his unconscious young friend and stopped talking. "We'll take care of you, little dude."

The elevator opened and Scott jumped backwards with a cuss.

Peter Quill and Gamora stood in front of them, pointing unusually bright weapons at Scott. Quill gasped at the sight of Peter, and then stared angrily at Scott. "You killed the baby Spider?" He scowled, getting closer with his gun.

" _Kill_? Are you-I didn't kill anyone. He's still alive!" Scott retaliated, trying to look away from Gamora, because he wasn't the one who was going to ask why she was green.

Quill's eyed widened, "oh, so you were planning to finish him off here?" He nodded as Gamora looked over at him.

"No! Who even are you?" Scott asked, clearly annoyed. "He's dying, and he needs help." He urged, and Quill looked over to Gamora suspiciously, who nodded. They lowered their weapons while Quill looked at Scott with narrow eyes, leading them in. "How many of you are here?" Scott asked as Gamora went to the other side to help Peter in.

Quill shook his head, "there were more. Some guy named Sam Wilkinson and this other guy - Iron Man - he went to look for this guy." He vaguely motioned his head towards Peter.

"Sam Wilson." Scott corrected after Quill finished.

"What?"

"His name's Sam Wilson." Scott said as they reached one of the office rooms. The window was smashed in and there was a huge glass spaceship there. Scott stared at it with his mouth open, "is that a-"

"It's mine." Quill raised his eyebrows, focusing on Peter. They laid him down on the floor and Quill frowned, "that doesn't look, buddy." He said, running to his ship to get his med kit.

"I am Groot." Groot stated, appearing from behind the ship.

Scott moved back, "is that-is that a talking tree?" He stammered, his eyes widening as Groot started walking closer and he unconsciously started moving backwards.

Quill and Gamora were busy working on Peter, "that's Groot, not just a 'talking tree'". Quill imitated Scott in a high-pitched tone.

"Is he okay?" Scott asked, kneeling down next to the three. Quill shook his head.

"I have to stitch him up - and the Iron dude is still looking for him out there." He said, glancing out the window. "Poor little guy." He said, "do you think he can breathe in that thing?" He asked, looking up at Gamora.

Gamora frowned, "yeah." She said, pulling her hand away from over his mouth. "Should we take it off, just in case?" She asked.

"Actually, I don't think he wants that." Scott pointed out, and they both looked up at him. "He doesn't want anyone to know who he is." He justified when they gave 'a' look.

Gamora sighed and rolled her eyes, "he'll make an exception - it's not like we'll see him again." She said, feeling around his neck for the mask until she found it.

Scott stared in anticipation, and Quill looked at him. "He might not want _you_ to see though." He said, motioning for Scott to move.

Scott scoffed, "are you serious? I'm trying to help too." He complained.

Quill pursed his lips, "you're the one who told us, so you obviously haven't seen him."

"Okay, I don't know who you think you are, but you're not as high and mighty-"

"Yes, because being a grown man dressed as an Ant is so much better?" Quill remarked, and Scott was ready to get physical when they heard a gasp.

Gamora instantly took her hands away from his mask, "he's waking up." She stated as they watched him wince and flail his hands.

"Calm down!" Quill shouted, grabbing his hands. "We're your friends. We know your other friend…", Quill's eyes narrowed as he tried to think if the name.

Gamora stared at him and scoffed, "Iron Ma-"

"Iron Man." Quill said quickly, and Gamora shook her head, "your friend, Iron Man." He warned.

Peter was wheezing, he couldn't see straight and there were random voices in the background - voices he didn't recognise. The pain from his shoulder had spread to his neck, and he was finding it difficult to breathe.

"-Peter, he's hurt!" Someone shouted. _Whose hurt?_ Peter thought, he turned his head to see three people. A pretty, strange green lady, a man who was frowning at him and shaking his head, and then Scott standing behind them like he'd been excluded.

"Peter!" The lady shouted, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Yeah?" Peter managed to say, and they all looked at him closely.

"Can you talk?" The green lady was hovering over him.

"I can't breathe." He said, his hands moving to press his wound.

The other man moved closer, "don't press it too hard, you'll make it worse." He warned, "and you have a head injury."

"A what?" Peter said between a cough. A head injury? Karen would've caught that. Why didn't Karen catch that?

"Peter, you're not a doctor." Gamora said before anyone even moved.

"Why-why do you keep s-saying my name?" Peter asked in frustration. She kept saying "Peter" but everything she said afterwards made no sense to him.

Once again, all three faces looked at him in fascination. "Peter's _your_ name?" Quill asked in excitement, his face lighting up in the dire situation.

"Did Mr Stark tell you?" He asked, and Quill smiled proudly.

"That." Quill stated, "is awesome!" He said, and Gamora rolled her eyes.

"Congratulations, you share a name with someone." She said sarcastically, putting something under Peter's head while Quill frowned.

"You're only saying that because you'd never find anyone here named 'Gamora'." He said, putting emphasis on her name.

Peter looked at them both with a confused expression, of course they couldn't see, but he felt very out of place at that moment. He had so many questions - why 'Gamora' was green, why this other man was named Peter and what he was doing here, and why Ant-Man was wandering around behind them picking up unusual things.

"I-I have to go." Peter said, trying to get up, because laying down on the floor was getting uncomfortable.

He fidgeted back against the wall and Gamora and Quill helped him lean against the wall. Peter looked at the other Peter and watched him look down at one of his electronic devices - except this wasn't anything he recognised. "You won't be going anywhere, _Peter_." He said, and Gamora cringed when Quill said his own name with a smug smile.

"Do you have to make things a hundred times more awkward than they have to be? Can't you be serious for once?" She scowled, shaking her head and getting up to head for the ship. Quill frowned, watching her leave.

"Don't move anything!" He said as he watched her ruffle around his corner. He turned back to face Peter, "that's my ship." He said proudly, "she just gets cranky sometimes, don't mind her." He explained, and Peter nodded understandingly, except this wasn't what he really wanted answered.

Scott came out from behind the ship, "how have you been communicating with them?" He asked, directing the question towards Quill.

"Can you just sit somewhere and stop talking?" Quill answered, and Peter pursed his lips, looking away from Scott, who raised his eyebrows.

"You're wasting time. I know a lot about-"

"We'll live." Gamora shouted from inside the ship, and Scott marched out of the room with a determined look on his face. Peter watched him leave and then looked back down at his shoulder which was covered in bandage now.

"Peter!" Peter looked up to see his name-sharing friend waving his hand in front of his face. "We really need to get you to a doctor."

"Karen, gimme an update." Peter said quietly, wincing in pain.

"Karen? There's no Karen-"

" _The artery was not hit, Peter, the bandage should suffice for an hour. Your best course of action would be getting it checked as soon as possible."_ Karen advised.

Peter rolled his eyes, "Karen, if you say that one more time-I can't get anywhere." He nearly yelled, closing his eyes. "An hour's not enough. What do I-what can I do?" He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

" _The blood loss is extensive, Peter, over two hours have already passed._ " Karen warned, and Peter threw his head back against the wall. " _An infection is imminent."_

Peter's eyes darted across the ceiling, "realistically, how long do we have?" He frowned, trying to get his breathing under control.

"Peter, who are you talking to?" Quill asked, "are you hallucinating?" He came closer and Peter put up both hands to keep him away.

"My AI." He said, and Quill gave him an impressed look.

" _Like I said, an hour."_

"Right, but-"

" _You are already showing signs of an infection, Peter, I would recommend-"_

"Getting medical attention, I know." He said loudly and clearly irritated, looking down at his bandage which was showing a glimpse of red now. "I'm gonna die in a corporate building." He said in realisation. "Surrounded by people who I don't even know." He started thinking about May and how worried she'd be right now.

Quill looked up from his little device, "don't be dramatic, you're not gonna die. I've seen injuries like that." He said, "you're probably good for a few hours."

"I'm not 'good' for a few hours, I'm about to die!" Peter said, "and this mask!" He shouted, clawing it off from his face. He lied, it did 'stick' to his face.

"How old are you?" Quill asked in a shocked tone when he saw his face. Gamora glanced at him and then turned to take a closer look from inside the ship.

"Seventeen." Peter said confidently, and Quill gave him a 'seriously?' look. "Fifteen."

"That's young. When I was your age-"

Peter rolled his eyes knowing where this was going, "you were in school working hard-"

"I was surrounded by freaks training me to fight or die." Quill interrupted, and Peter's eyes widened.

"Really?" He asked, and this time he meant it, because he had no idea who this 'Peter' was.

Quill nodded, "really."

"Where are you from?" Peter asked, because Earth was definitely not the place to find people like Gamora and the moving tree in the back that he was trying to ignore.

Quill smiled, "not from here. We're Guardians of the Galaxy." He said proudly, and then the movie-like moment was interrupted. "Well, I mean I'm from Earth. I got taken by a spaceship when I was young but this is the first time I've been back for like 20 years." He explained, rubbing his forehead.

"Nice to meet you, Peter." Peter said with a brief smile, because it felt like just sharing a name was enough to connect with someone.

"Where are you from?" Quill asked to keep the conversation going and to keep young Peter from panicking.

Peter opened his mouth to answer but it broke into a cough. He squinted and looked up to see Quill with worry all over his face.

"Little man, you're coughing blood." He said as he frowned and that was the moment Peter was regretting the suit being red, because it made it so much harder to tell where and how he was injured. In fact, he was regretting a lot of things now.

He frowned, quickly putting on the mask again. "Karen." He said, his voice breaking. Gamora and Scott both looked up from what they were doing and watched in anticipation. "Send May the message."

" _Peter you are very much alive. This would cause her distress._ "

"Her? I'm the one in-" he fidgeted again when there was another jolt of pain. He wanted his arm to be numb, but it was just getting more painful.

" _Shoulder injuries are actually some of the most painful, Peter_."

"Thanks. Thank you, for that useless point, Karen, are _you_ dying too?" He remarked, watching his vitals in front of him on the screen. His heart rate was starting to slow down, and that was never a good sign.

He sniffed and watched the three gather in front of him. "Peter, you're breathing too slow." Quill said, as if Peter was the one doing something wrong.

He closed his eyes, too tired to reply. Scott, Gamora and Quill started murmuring in the back about how best to handle the situation. Scott kept bringing up the fact that he "had a daughter" and that he was the only "mature adult" in the group.

He was so close to falling asleep, despite Karen's warnings that he might not be able to wake up, but it was the huge crash through the enormous room window that startled him.

He looked up in fear and watched as the galactic structure made its way towards him. All he could do was push himself back against the wall, because moving out the way was out of the question. His breath was caught in his throat, and he watched the others scramble to the side and shout at Peter. Quill grabbed his right arm, only to be pushed violently aside by the monster. It clawed at Peter.

"Hey!" Peter screamed as he was dragged across the small place and then lifted up into the air. He was going to die. "Let g-let go!" He closed his eyes as he was about to be smashed into the floor, or _through_ the floor.

He ended up on the floor with a _thud_ , and people screaming in the background. He was expecting more but opened his eyes to see the thing crackle with two suits flying around it.

" _Internal injuries detected_."

"Peter?" A concerned voice asked as his vision blurred. He wheezed and felt a burning sensation in his chest before he blacked out.

* * *

When he woke up, it wasn't how he expected. It wasn't a hospital, and there was a lot of arguing in the background before he even opened his eyes.

Something jerked him and he opened his eyes in fear when he snapped out of it. He could feel tears building up and he looked around instantly.

"-strategy is what got us-"

"Wrong?" He could tell that was Tony, and he sounded furious, "I don't see you coming up with anything remotely-"

"Is that so? Who suggested the first idea?" And that was Steve Rogers.

"The idea we didn't use?"

He couldn't see them in sight. They were standing somewhere behind him and he was getting impatient.

" _Peter, you're awake_." Karen said, and not only was she pretty late in detecting that, but he was wandering why he still had it on.

He winced when he tried to move and looked up at Tony moving around him as he and Steve stopped arguing.

"Peter, stay still." Tony ordered, and Peter stopped moving and laid his head back. "How're you feeling? Do you wanna take the mask off?"

Peter looked at Tony in confusion. "Yeah." He said, his voice raspy. "Where are we?" He asked quietly when there was another rocking movement.

"Not a hospital. Not where you should be." Tony replied, saying the second statement in a quieter and more disappointed tone.

"But I'm okay?" He asked, squinting when he took a big breath.

He heard someone move in the back before Tony replied, "you broke a few ribs but Bruce took the bullet out." He said, and Peter stared at him while he said it.

He shook his head, "that's it?". Of course he was glad he was alive, but that didn't feel like a "few" broken ribs.

"Why?" Tony sounded surprised. "What were you expecting? You should be glad you're okay." He raised his voice with each question defensively.

Peter saw a flash of concern and anger. "Yeah, yeah." He nodded, "you're right." He said, not wanting to make a fuss.

"You should be glad." Tony repeated, and Peter nodded.

"I am."

Tony sat down next to him and ran his hand over his face. "I can send you back." He said after a few minutes of deep thoughts.

"Send me back? Back where?" Peter asked in concern, now happy that the mask was still on because Tony wouldn't be able to see him nearly cry every time he moved.

"You know where." Tony crossed his arms, leaning back against his chair as if he was talking to a young child.

Peter's eyes widened in sadness, and he looked at the ceiling to gather his thoughts. "No. No, you asked me if I-"

"It doesn't matter." Tony cut in, "look how badly you got hurt." He continued, voice shaking as he scrunched up his fists in the air. Of all people, Peter was the one he was trying his best to protect and who ended up getting hurt the worst.

"You said I was fine." Peter argued - he felt horrible but no way was he going back to Queens while everyone was here fighting the bad guys.

Tony scoffed, " _fine_? I never said fine. I said you will be okay, not that you're-this is irrelevant-"

"I can't go back!" Peter said loudly, moving up against wherever he was so that he could sit up.

"Stop that." Tony put out his hand to stop him moving, "and you are going back. You're only sixteen-"

"Mr Stark, I _can't_ go back." Peter repeated, and Tony watched as he took of his mask to reveal his face.

"Looking at your face won't change my decision."

"It's not your decision, it's _mine_." Peter said harshly. He was old enough to make his own decisions, or so he thought, and what he wanted was to stay.

Tony smiled with pursed lips briefly, "you're not understanding me-"

"Do you not want me here?" Peter asked with sadness in his voice. He wasn't ignorant - he knew that wasn't it, and he felt bad for twisting Tony's words, but he really didn't want to go back.

Tony seemed surprised, "no. That's not-you know that's not-stop doing that." He stammered, "I like you being by my side."

Peter exhaled, "then let me stay."

" _But_ , but I'm not going to let you die just because I enjoy your company." He said, because even though it was nice having him swing around and babble things in the intercom that no one understood, he wasn't going to be the one to tell May that he got her nephew killed.

"I'll stay close." Peter offered.

Peter stared at him and furrowed his brows, "you're always supposed to stay close, that's not the part up for discussion."

"Okay. So I get another chance."

"Peter-"

"I'll stay off side, only come in when I need to and not leave the group." He offered, smiling in anticipation.

Tony nodded, "okay. Yeah, we can work that out."

"Really?" Peter said in a high-pitched tone. He expected another half an hour worth of arguing before reaching this point.

"Unless you-"

"Nope. I'm-I'm good." He said, and Tony grinned at him, tapping the bed before getting up. "I'll send the other Peter guy in. He wanted to see how things were as well."

"Okay."

* * *

Again, thanks for reading and reviewing! This was for a prompt by BeautifulKnight. And it took me a while - I feel like I dragged it out in the end..

So I don't know a lot about Infinity War and Thanos so excuse any errors (does he still have a Chitauri army?) ! Anyways, Peter Quill in Homecoming 2 would be amazing imo - esp because Iron Man won't be (sad news, I know!)

Next stories:

Guest

Nindragon


	11. Chapter 11

"-past ten, and Happy's gone who knows where. Get your stuff." Tony ordered, closely focused on his faceplate that he was fixing.

Peter frowned, adjusting his half-finished upgraded webbing. "It's Friday, come on!" He complained, shooting a web past Tony, who gave him a brief glare before looking back down.

"Your aunt-"

"She said I could stay." Peter interrupted quickly, squinting at his wrist and pulling at the bracelet.

"Well, I don't believe you." Tony said instantly, putting down his tools and facing Peter finally. "Time to get going." He walked up to a struggling Peter and pressed down on the bracelet. It snapped open and Peter looked up at him. "Peter."

He looked back down and fumbled with his fingers, "I don't-you said I can always stay here if I want and-"

"Hey, I'm not kicking you out, what's up?"

"Nothing, noth-I'm-I'll go." Peter replied, hopping off the table he was on to be stopped by Tony, who held out his arm as if he was stopping a child.

"It's not realistic. Peter, he can't get out." Tony explained, watching as Peter pursed his lips and looked away. "I've told you this before. Pretty much everyday for the last week." He said quietly, but Peter didn't seem to be listening.

"You don't know that." He said, knowing the answer he was going to get was "don't worry", which was why for this week, he'd kept this thought suppressed.

"I do! It's his people trying to scare you." Tony argued.

Peter was slumped back against the bench and practically ignoring everything Tony was saying, which Tony picked up on.

"Peter, are you even listening?"

Peter exhaled and looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm _super_ safe." He said sarcastically, reaching for his bag that was behind him.

"You are. He's gone, and he won't be back any time soon-"

"He's seen me!" Peter said, his voice raising in panic. "He knows my name, he knows where I live-"

"Woah, woah." Tony raised his hand to calm Peter down, "it's been a year, if he wanted to tell someone, he would've told someone." Tony reassured him.

"Well, a year ago I wasn't getting threatening texts." Peter countered, "I don't know what to do." He ran his hand through his hair in worry and Tony sighed.

"It was two texts, and we traced them, and told you it was nothing."

"I don't care!" Peter yelled, "May's home or at work alone most of the day, and Ned-and-and me! I'm-"

"Okay. Listen, if you feel better staying here then you stay here." Tony interrupted again, it was getting late, and telling Peter to calm down was only making him more agitated.

He contemplated it before shaking his head, "no, no, I don't feel-I need to...get home." Peter said quietly, throwing his bag on his shoulder and making his way past Tony.

"I'll drop you off." Tony offered, walking closely behind his pacing mentee.

"No."

" _No_? It's 9:45, I'm not letting you-"

Peter stopped walking and turned to face Tony, which threw him off track. "I don't _want_ you to. Okay? Right now, I don't...", he trailed off and saw that his interruption and statement hurt Tony, but it was true. What he wanted to say was _you're not my dad_ , because it annoyed him how Tony reminded him of that sometimes.

"Peter-"

"You said it. I'll be fine. I don't _need_ you." Peter cut in again, leaving Tony clenching his fists and standing in the doorway as he stormed off like the typical angry teenager.

"Seemed a little harsh." A voice said, and Tony turned to see Pepper standing at the end of the opposite corridor.

"I was trying...to help." Tony replied, quietly mumbling the last part in his defence.

"I was talking about him." She smiled, making her way down with a clipboard in hand. "You spoiled him."

"He's not-that's not what he is." Tony muttered, rubbing his temple as she approached. "He's scared."

"Of?"

"Of-"

A ringing cut in and Tony rolled his eyes, "Friday, take a message." He ordered, following Pepper out of his workshop.

"Give him a day." She suggested, turning to face him briefly as she strolled along. "You know this is the first time I haven't asked you to leave that place and you did." She added with a laugh.

"That's not-that's a lie." He said with a small smile, fumbling with the screwdriver he was still carrying.

"Really? You don't even leave sometimes. It's not healthy."

"You don't know what healthy is. The definition of healthy is doing things that make you happy." Tony answered, watching as Pepper looked at him with an annoyed and confused look.

"That's not...not even _close_ to what it means-"

"If you're trying to make me go back-"

"Really? That's funny." Pepper interrupted as they entered the main area. Her phone rang and she answered, walking towards the kitchen while he put the screwdriver on a side table

"Yeah, I will, thanks for calling." Pepper said, ending her conversation just a few seconds after it had started and looking up at Tony from behind the sofa now.

He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to talk. "Did you accidentally sell the company or something? Because that's how scared you look."

"No." She scoffed lightly, "it was Rhodey, he said some guy called Adrian Toomes escaped from prison an hour ago." She said it more like a question though, because she had no idea who that was.

Tony glared at her for another few seconds before loosening his tie and rushing back to where he'd just come from, with Pepper yelling something in the back.

"Call Peter, Friday, and get me a location. Verify the source." He ordered as soon as he got to his workshop. He scrambled hurriedly into his seat.

" _On it, sir."_

Pepper watched his eyes dart across the screen and stood next to him in confusion. "What is going on? Who is that?" She asked, throwing her hands in the air.

" _Hello?_ " A voice echoed through the intercom, and Tony looked up and sighed in relief. He could breathe.

"Parker, where are you?"

" _I'm-wait a second_ -", he stopped talking and Tony glanced at Pepper. " _I'm home_." He stated, mumbling something afterwards.

"What's wrong? And why can't I-is your phone tracker off?"

" _You're 'tracking' me? Why are-okay, Mr Stark, could you just hold on?"_

"I asked what's wrong." Tony ignored his request.

" _May's not opening the door and the key...not working...why isn't..._ ", he trailed off and there was the jingling of his keys and an irritated mutter.

"Get out. Peter, get out!" Tony yelled, and Peter said a "what" in response.

"Tony, what the hell are you saying!" Pepper interrupted, getting a glare from Tony, who continued to shout.

" _I don't understand_ -"

He was cut off by a huge smashing sound from the other line. Peter?" Tony said with a frown.

" _Line disconnected_." Friday informed, and went on to say something about calling again, but Tony was in his suit by then and making his way out as soon as he could.

"I have to-"

"Go." Pepper smiled through her concern.

He took off within seconds.

And that was short of a few minutes of how long it took to get there. Tony landed with a stumble outside the apartment building, which was much busier than he expected. Sirens were blaring, there were police cars everywhere, and a lot of disoriented people.

He eyed the building before barging past the shouting officers and heading upstairs. He stopped when he reached Peter's floor and their non-existent door.

"Peter!" He shouted, making his way inside and clenching his jaw when he took a look around. There were things all of the floor, notably shattered glass, the door, and the back of May.

May, who was facing the opposite way with one hand on her head as she cried in despair.

Tony clenched his jaw, "May." He said in a quiet voice, and she broke out of her trance and quickly turned around. There was a clear look of disappointment like she was expecting it to be someone else. Expecting it to be Peter.

She stared with tears in her eyes and down on her cheek and shook her head, "where is he?" She asked through a cry, "tell me where he is." She said again a little louder when he didn't reply.

"I'll find him." Tony said in a serious and assuring tone. "Maybe he's-", he stopped and clenched his jaw. No, there wasn't any other explanation. He knew what had happened here. He couldn't stop staring at the little bit of blood around the middle of the room.,

"This is on you. If you don't get him back...", she shook her head as she said the statement in a threatening tone.

"Tell me what happened." Tony said, stepping out of the suit in defeat.

* * *

 _Peter frowned at Tony's 'request', "I don't understand-"_

 _Something struck him from behind with such force that it sent him flying against, and then through, the door, which broke off inside._

 _His ears were ringing and there was a shooting and fierce pain in his back and head. He struggled to breathe as he tried to get up. He could see the wooden floorboards and the leg of their dinner table in the corner of his eyes._

 _He turned his head as best he could and saw a figure dressed in black approaching. His vision was slightly blurred but he could make out a long, thick rod swinging around in the air, which the figure swung a few times before it hit Peter's head_.

He woke to a stinging pain in his head that resembled a migraine, but that wasn't what bothered him at that moment. It was the spiralling vision and the fact that he couldn't move himself.

"-want to do it! Is he serious, right now?" A voice bellowed as Peter stared hazily at his arm, which numbly laid in front of him on the ground.

He heard an angry sigh followed by what sounded like a kick. "This is just great." Another voice shouted sarcastically.

When he finally felt like he could move, he fidgeted backwards and rolled sideways onto his back.

The voices stopped and within seconds, he felt rough hands claw into his shoulders from behind and drag him across the peeling wooden floor.

"He's awake." Someone said, and then there was a whispery murmur that carried regret. "Are you sure about this? He's not here yet."

"Boss man asked you to kidnap a tween?" A younger more arrogant voice asked with a laugh. "What the hell is this?"

Peter was trying his best to match voices to faces, but it was impossible. He couldn't see properly, and the voices were echoing in his ears - he just wanted to sleep at that moment.

He squinted when a jolt of pain struck the back of his head, where he was sure he'd been hit. A hand wrapped around his neck and he was pushed back against something hard and metal. He nearly cried out when his head hit, because he was sure these guys had cracked something.

"Before we-" the voice cut off and his ears practically blacked out. He saw the man's mouth moving but no sound. _Am I deaf? I'm deaf. I'm gonna die a_ -"yourself? Just tell me." The man said in a suspiciously nice tone. _Not deaf._

"Wh-what?" Was all Peter managed to say, and that was all it took to anger the man in front of him, who brought up his fist for a punch. Peter closed his eyes in immediate fear as he waited.

"Hey!" Now that was a familiar voice. He opened his eyes and could make out someone standing in the corner. It happened. That was the Vulture, and they were going to kill him. He was going to die an hour after Tony had told him that this would never happen.

"Drop him." Toomes ordered, and as soon as the man pushing Peter back took his hand off of his chest, he slid down onto the floor.

He clutched the back of his head, and he could feel it wet and sticky with blood, but refused to move his hand. It felt better knowing he was trying, at least, to relieve the pain. He looked to his right to see Liz's dad shake his head and walk up to him in disappointment. _Liz's dad_ , he thought, this man was far from a 'dad', but for some reason, that was all that came to mind when he saw him.

"I told you to let it go." He said in an eerily similar tone that he'd used in the car a year ago.

Peter took an uneven breath of air and felt tears build up, "and I didn't." He stated.

"You know, everyone there was certain I knew you." He said with a humourless laugh, "and I said no. Only for one reason." He finished, not bothering to actually say the reason, because they both knew what it was.

Peter didn't say anything. He just stared at the towering man in front of him.

"This wasn't my idea, by the way." He added, "but now I can't let you go."

Peter contemplated arguing he wouldn't say anything, but decided against it. "Then what-what are you-"

"We can do an exchange." Toomes said in a way as if he was speaking to a small child as he bent down next to Peter.

Peter knew where the conversation was going to end up before the man finished and stared past him. He didn't want to die but giving him that information was just as dangerous.

"I was supposed to have those things, and you stopped me-"

"They weren't yours." Peter interrupted firmly, speaking in an almost monotone and digging into his own scalp as he tightened his grip.

"Pete-"

"I can't give you what you want." He said with a slight crack in his voice.

Toomes scoffed, turning away for a second. "That-" he pointed to Peter's head, "that looks painful." He said with raised eyebrows, and within seconds, he harshly grabbed Peter's hand away from under his head and pushed him back against the hard wall.

As much as he wanted to shout, he kept it to a small gasp and then a few heavy breaths as he tried to block out the pain.

"Doesn't hurt, does it?" Toomes mumbled on in the back. And it wasn't until he said something about May that Peter looked up to pay attention.

"What?"

"I'm just saying, your poor aunt shouldn't have gotten involved."

He was good. He was good because Peter couldn't tell if he was lying anymore. He had a genuine look of regret across his face.

"What do you-what does that mean?"

"They went there looking for you, found her and...you know. You know how these things go." Toomes said, watching Peter clench his jaw and fists. "I didn't want fatalities-"

"Fatali-no. You're lying, you're-" he couldn't even finish his sentence before breaking into a cry. "That's- _no_ -". His mind didn't even think to question the possible lie. He pushed his head back against the wall on purpose, bringing up both hands to his head as he broke down.

If May was dead, he had no one. How can you start with parents and uncles and aunts and in the span of a few years, lose all of that? Peter could. If May was dead, there was no one left.

"Tell me, Peter, if she was here and alive-", Peter turned his head to the side and continued to cry as he clutched his hair in despair. "Would she want you to get yourself killed protecting a-a stupid suit?" Toomes questioned in a tone that obviously made Peter sound like the stupid one. Like the one risking his life for nothing.

Peter didn't reply, just shaking his head as he sniffled. He couldn't fight or get out of a washed out building, and he was supposed to be stronger than 90% of the Avengers. That thought irritated him.

"Peter!" Toomes yelled, clicking his fingers in front of him. "She's dead so she's dead, move on and focus a little on yourself, huh?" He said loudly, but it didn't affect Peter.

 _That_ irritated Toomes, who huffed furiously and stood up, kicking the wall right next to where Peter was sitting, making him flinch.

"I don't know what Liz saw in you." He said harshly, grabbing Peter's collar and lifting him up slowly. "You ruin lives, and you make the happy, happier. That's all you do." He continued, wrapping his hand around Peter's neck.

He couldn't breathe, and he could feel the fingernails claw into his skin as he wheezed.

"I hope you change your mind tomorrow." Toomes said, dropping him back into his spot.

He felt burning tears in his eyes and took a few seconds to breathe normally again, while watching the older man make his way out.

Toomes stopped again. "One more thing, don't move." He ordered, lifting up his head towards the ceiling before leaving.

Peter followed his gaze and saw a line of masked men with weapons in hand around the top of the warehouse. Ready to kill. He looked back down and clenched his jaw as tight as he could.

He brought up his knees and laid his head down on them, tying his arms under his knees. It was the only discreet way of checking if he still had his shooters, which he soon found he didn't. He was ready to scream at that point. Any other evening, he would've been prepared, he thought. No, he should've taken up the offer of being dropped off, why didn't he? And May. She couldn't be dead. Did he see her? He was going crazy trying his best to remember whether he saw the smallest glimpse of her when he crashed into the living room.

* * *

"Tony, go to sleep." Pepper ordered, walking into his set up.

He glanced at her and shook his head. "It's been-it's been seven hours. I can't sleep in the middle of the day, it's our best chance-"

"You can't do anything sleep deprived. And middle of the-it's five am!" She cut in, yawning and checking her watch again.

"Vision can do everything you can, he can take over."

"First of all, he can't, because I created him and I know more. And second, do you think he's sleeping?" He looked up at her with sadness and worry.

Pepper sighed, "Tony-"

"I'll find him."

"I know you will, but-"

"Let me find him. I need to do this." He said, breaking their gaze and looking back down at his screen.

Pepper knew it was so that she wouldn't be able to see him like that. "Okay. Okay, I'll get you snacks or-"

"I got that."

"When?"

Tony pointed vaguely towards Dum-E.

She scoffed, "right, your robots. Apparently everyone here's expendable now." She muttered sarcastically.

"You're not." He said quickly and almost instinctively as he looked up to her and offered a small smile. She copied and nodded, and that was all that needed to be said as she left the room.

It had taken a few hours last night for May to convince the police that Peter Parker was at a friends house and fine. Then she rejected his offer to come with him, because why would she? He'd then spent the rest of his night scanning through, unsuccessfully, the footage around the area.

It shouldn't be that way, he knew, but the thing that was eating away at him was that he hadn't done more just a few hours ago. He could've let Peter stay, or dropped him off himself, or even picked up that phone call. Things would be so different.

* * *

Seven hours? It took seven hours to come up with the perfect plan. Usually it would be much quicker, but he couldn't risk dying. Too much was at stake. He spent the night staring closely at the line of villains who were closely observing him.

He couldn't guess how fast he could run, because something in here was stopping him. His head was still dizzy, and he was sure it wasn't the whole 'having your head smashed in' thing. He used his lowest speed, which could still outrun most people, so that wasn't the issue.

He sighed and looked down. Now or never. He fumbled with his fingers and tapped his right foot impatiently, then made a run for it.

He could tell they didn't expect him to do that, because there was a delay in the shooting, which echoed and interrupted he forever silent atmosphere.

He climbed up under the extending shelf where they'd been camping, trying his best to block the uproar and the fact that his ears were ringing. He kicked upwards twice and scrambled into the corner, watching as the thing collapsed downwards with all the people on it.

He knew it wasn't enough to kill, which was the only reason he came up with that plan. He tried kicking through the wood but couldn't enough to break out. He quickly glanced backwards and watched more men flood through the back door. He was screwed.

One of them leading the team shot at Peter, who was expecting to dodge a bullet but ended up taking a fall when something much larger exploded next to him. The wall crumpled under him, and he tumbled down, trying to grasp onto something on the way.

"Stop moving, kiddy!" One of them shouted, and when he shot again, most of the smaller, timid looking attackers scurried out. They were scared? _He_ was scared, _he_ was the child here!

His heart was racing, as was his mind trying to search desperately for a way out. He was pretty sure his head was bleeding again, and he could see wooden splinters on his right arm as well as spots of red.

He froze as he stared ahead at his opponent, and then focused on the row of steel shelves where the strange glowing tech was placed and obviously being messed around with in the corner of his eyes, to his right.

Before anyone could say anything, he raced towards it. It could give some cover, and protect him for at least a few minutes.

There was shouting, screaming, shooting and incoherent sentences being yelled back and forth. He ducked down and held on closely to the edges of the shelves, ready to sling it forwards.

"Go behind!" Someone yelled. He knew there were only around four or five people left. The rest had gone out when the psycho with the gun came. His breathing was elevated, and he couldn't hear right. He gripped tightly and threw it forwards.

Things were quiet, and there was definitely swearing. He squinted as he moved behind another one and waited. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

"What the shit!"

He tried to not breathe so loud.

"Go after him!" And then there was running, and the steps got closer and closer until a loud ringtone interrupted the suddenly foreboding silence. There was a shuffle and then the footsteps disappeared.

He could hear himself breathe louder and louder when he realised they were gone. What he wouldn't give to have Karen right now. The breathing soon turned into a choking cry when he was sure no one was there.

He stood up behind the shelf and looked around at the wreckage in devastation. With both hands on his head, he clenched his jaw tightly and stepped over some of the rubble.

The first thing that caught his eye was the unmoving arm under the steel he'd thrown.

"Hey, dude." Peter said, his voice shaking as he crouched down. He tapped the arm with his foot gently. He wanted to run out of there, but it didn't feel right leaving the guy under there.

He sighed, "come on," he whispered to himself while pushing the shelf off. It was a scruffy and well-built man, and his eyes were closed.

It didn't occur to him that the man was dead. Just hurt. He didn't realise until he checked for the pulse. The nonexistent pulse.

He staggered backwards in shock and all of a sudden, felt sick. Did he just kill someone? No, that wasn't him. _It was the man's fault-that's what everyone says. That's what the killers say._ He was derailing.

His heart was pounding against his chest, and he felt sick. So, so sick. While it seemed unusual considering what he did every night, he'd never killed, or seen someone die in front of him.

"Shit." He finally managed to say, "what did you do?" His voice was a half-whisper. He ran his hand through his hair again in panic, and immediately pulled it back when he brushed his cut.

He looked up at the door and then back down at the man. He couldn't do anything now, so he ran, practically through the doors and then ending up in the corridors.

There were too many doors, and his clothes were sticking to him. He was stumbling down trying to just get away from that place. Maybe someone would see him and help. Maybe.

His thoughts were all over the place; he was trying his hardest to suppress the whole May thing, ignore his injuries and trying to look for a way out. He ended up at the entrance within a few minutes. The doors were chained and he tugged weakly, stepping back when he heard something from the other side.

He listened intently as he took a few steps back and panted, watching the doors closely. When he heard a louder crash, he flinched and started making his way down the opposite end again. Where the hell was he trapped?

He hastily opened a door to his left and stumbled in, closing it behind him and practically collapsing in front of it.

There was a deadly silence and all he could hear was his own pulse in his ears for a good few minutes. Then he heard more racketing and destruction.

"Peter?" A familiar voice called from the corridor and outside his room.

Tony. Or maybe he wasn't hearing it right. He waited some more and heard his name being called again, then pulled himself up and away from the door.

The doorknob turned and Peter frowned as he watched the door open.

It was Tony, but Peter didn't move. He continued to stare. There was a sigh of relief, which projected loud and clear from the suit.

" _Building is clear_." Friday informed, and Tony immediately stepped out of his suit and watched as Peter took another step back.

"It's me." Tony stated dumbly with the most worried expression, obviously it was him. "Peter." He almost whispered, because he didn't want to find him like that. There was a lot of blood, and cuts on his face and he looked frozen, and it was heartbreaking.

"Yeah." Peter said, nodding his head with an upset frown and then shaking his hand. "I thought-," he cut himself out and shook his head. "Where's May?"

"At home, waiting for _you_." Tony said, slowly stepping closer. Of course she was at home, because it was all lies. "It's okay, you're safe now." Tony said, but Peter wasn't paying attention.

He looked down and clenched his jaw to stop himself from breaking down here. "We can't go." He said more or less to himself.

Tony looked around the room, "yes we can, come on-"

"There's a dead guy." Peter cut in, and Tony squinted in confusion, "down the-the corridor there's this door-and, and there's a-"

"Doesn't matter, Peter-"

"It does matter!" Peter yelled, "I was the one who killed him." There was less regret and more fear in his voice.

Tony exhaled, _that's what it's about_. "Peter, listen to me, he was a bad guy and if he-"

"That doesn't mean I should've killed him!" He shouted, and by then he was crying, "I didn't mean it-I threw the table and-no it was supposed to scare them and he got-he was in the way-"

Tony said his name a few times and then pulled him in for a hug, which finally stopped him. "These things happen, it's unavoidable." He said, speaking to himself as well. "We chose this. You know that everyday you go on these little missions you can get killed, and they're double your age, they know more than enough."

Tony squinted when he saw Peter's neck. Aside from the bruises and blood, there was something there. He touched the skin and Peter flinched, pulling away.

"What is that?" Tony asked, his eyes pointing towards Peter's shoulders.

Peter frowned in confusion, "what's what?" He brought up his hand to the back of his hand and he felt it. A small hard square-feeling object. He looked up and was about to say something when his vision blurred again.

He stumbled backwards and Tony grabbed his arm. He couldn't make out the rest.

* * *

"Specifically? Okay, so it just, what, suppressed his abilities?"

" _Yes_." Friday replied, and Tony nodded as he stared at the tiny blue chip.

He leaned back in his chair, "so what if a certain shield-wielding individual was to use it?" He asked, throwing around the chip in his hands.

" _It could be fatal, Peter is much stronger than the majority of the Avengers_." Friday said, and that made Tony feel a little proud.

"Yeah he is." He muttered with a smile, throwing the chip onto the counter. "Dum-E put it somewhere safe, and you better know where it is when I ask." He ordered with a frown, getting up from his chair.

He looked to Rhodey, who'd been sitting across him with his phone. "Handy thing." He said.

Rhodey looked up, "no. No, Tony, because we're not planning on killing anyone we know." He said with a frown.

Tony rolled his eyes, "of course not. But it can be useful for certain people."

"Yeah? Like for who?"

Tony shrugged, "Loki." He pointed out, "that guy just doesn't die."

"Have you seen him yet? Since he got back?" Rhodey asked, putting his phone down.

"Loki's back? From where?" He joked, knowing what Rhodes meant.

Rhodey scoffed softly, "you really gonna make a fifteen year old feel like you're too busy for him after all that?"

"That's not what I'm doing." Tony said defensively and quickly.

Rhodey furrowed his brows, "yeah? Then what _are_ you doing? It's been a day."

Tony clenched his jaw before talking. "He told me he was scared that night. And ironically, look what happened. I told him nothing would happen."

Rhodey looked surprised, "jeez, Tony." He said after a few seconds, "what happened-"

"He's a child, I should've listened, chance or not."

"Just see him in the morning and say that to him then." Rhodey advised, seeing no point in arguing. "He'll understand."

"Right." Tony said sarcastically, making his way out. He walked down the corridor and stopped outside Peter's room. It was late, and he was asleep. This was probably the first time he'd passed by where May wasn't in.

He stood by the open door and stared inside for a minute before shifting. He let that happen. There was no point in being a hero and doing what he did when Peter had already got himself out of the worst situation.

He didn't know how long he'd stand there, but he frowned when Peter fidgeted a few times, which was soon followed by small but heavy intakes of air.

He frowned and looked back down the corridor for May, who wasn't there, and then moved in. "Peter?" He said quietly.

Peter's breathing elevated and Tony nudged him a few times until he gasped awake. "It's okay. It's me." He reassured him as he grabbed the hand Peter was about to hit him with.

His young mentee glared in fear for a few seconds before starting to nod and faking a small laugh. "Yeah, yeah, it was a-just a dream."

Tony nodded and while the only light in the room was coming from outside, he could tell Peter was on the verge of tears. "Yeah?"

"Uh huh." Peter said quickly. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Tony pursed his lips, "are you sure? Must've been a hell of a dream."

"Just a bad dream." Peter said again, tired and trying his hardest to steer the conversation away from the point he knew it was headed.

"So a nightmare?" Tony said, although it came out more condescending than he wanted.

Peter looked to his left at his outline, "sure." He agreed, "but I'm sleepy right now, so-"

"No you're not." Tony cut in.

Peter scoffed, "no I'm not." He repeated, "but I'm not-I don't need to talk about it. I'm fine." He said boldly, "I'm so, _so_ fine."

"You just had a nightmare."

"So? People have nightmares, it's not a big deal." He shrugged it off. "I-uh-what happened to-"

"He got caught a few hours ago." Tony said, knowing what the question was going to be, and his answer seemed to calm Peter.

"That's great." Peter said, but the usual excitement didn't show.

Tony exhaled, "Peter, be honest."

"I am. I'm being as honest-"

"You're not."

"I am. I don't know what you want me to say-"

"The truth, just say-"

"You should've listened to me! I told you-I said all that-those things and-and I was right! I was right, like I was right last time, but you don't listen!" Peter erupted, and Tony looked at him feeling more guilty than he'd ever felt. He hadn't expected that so soon.

"I'm-"

"I know." Peter sighed, "you're sorry, and it's fine, because _I'm_ fine and-"

"It's not fine. I should've done more." Tony said, throwing both hands up in the air with a guilty face.

There was a two minute silence before Peter spoke. "Next time, Mr Stark."

"There's not gonna be a next time." Tony said instantly putting a hand in his pocket and Peter nodded with a smile.

* * *

That took ages, sorry - this was based on a comment prompt :)

I kinda write the main part then lose interest, which is really bad, then it takes me ages to write the last few paragraphs.

Anyways, enjoy if you're still reading.

Also, would you prefer shorter stories? I realise mine are getting a bit long.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ned!"

" _Sorry! Next time I'll get it!"_ Ned yelled into the small bluetooth Peter had taken from May's drawer in the morning.

Peter adjusted it when it came out again and rolled his eyes in irritation. "He's heading to the alley!" He shouted, huffing in frustration and taking the shortcut to get there beforehand.

" _Okay, to your left-Peter, left!"_ Ned's voice bellowed in his ear when he turned right. He was about to turn but was smashed violently backwards in the air. He was up in no time, but it was a hard blow.

"N-Ned!" He yelled, trying to move up against the wall and quickly turning the corner. "Ned!" He leaned against the bricks and gasped for air, his shaking hand moving up against his ear. He felt the bluetooth in two under his mask and clenched his jaw.

He breathed out, looked to his left instantly when he heard footsteps get closer, and webbed his way down the gap of the two buildings. He was nearly at the end turn when something grabbed him behind and pulled him violently backwards.

* * *

"Didn't you take his suit?" Rhodey squinted at his phone screen, then looked up at Tony, who was staring at him with raised eyebrows. "Spider-Man's suit." Rhodey cleared.

Tony pursed his lips and rolled his eyes, "I did." He said, looking back down at a faceplate he was trying to upgrade.

"He's fighting some dudes." Rhodey said, heavily invested in the video he'd been glaring at for the past few minutes.

Tony scoffed, not bothering to look up, "if you had eyes, you'd see that whatever he's wearing couldn't be anything _I_ made." He remarked, focused closely on a tiny screw he was trying to add.

"Maybe you should go help." Rhodey said, eyes still glued to the screen.

There was no reply for a few seconds, "he's fine." Tony said dismissively, "he thinks he can do everything himself, why not let him see how that turns out?" Tony said with a frown, still not looking up.

Rhodey ignored the comment, and then shouted a "woah" loud and clear, which disrupted Tony, who looked up in frustration as he dropped his screw.

"Seriously? Serious-that was my fiftieth-" he stopped and took a breath when he realised Rhodey was still staring at the screen. "What are you-Friday, bring it up." He ordered, watching the TV screen on the opposite side of the room light up and then switch to a live-stream.

It was Peter, in his crappy homemade suit. The clip started with him appearing from around the corner. Tony's eyes narrowed as he stared with curiosity at the screen. He was always swinging around Queens, it was nothing knew, but Rhodey was making it sound bad.

Peter rested against the wall and was gasping for air, one hand clutching his chest. His hand moved to the side of his head, then something angered him. He clenched his hand in the air and was about to punch something when he quickly turned his head left.

"Where is that?" Tony asked, setting his things down and standing up to get a closer look.

 _"Three blocks down from Peter's apartment._ " Friday answered, and he watched Peter go off the screen.

"Where'd he go?" Tony asked quickly.

" _The majority of videos are either live streams or from social media."_ Friday informed, and there was a short pause and then a switch.

This one had talking. It was being filmed by teenagers by the sound of it, and probably those inside the surrounding buildings.

It showed Peter making it nearly to the end of an alley when a long twisting metal rope came out of nowhere and wrapped around his waist, jerking him backwards and out of frame. There was an "ah shit!" in the background and some shuffling before the video cut off.

"Friday!" Tony yelled, eyes narrowed and heart racing.

The video quickly switched to a lower resolution one in a smaller screen next to a news anchor. It showed Peter being thrown onto the floor roughly and the thing around him disappeared. He looked confused and was panicking, which was unusual for him. " _It seems like new technology or a weapon of some sort, which the famous neighbourhood Spider-Man seems to be having difficulty battling."_ The woman with standing in front of an eager crowd said, " _it really raises the question-"_

Tony waved his hand and the video closed. "Who were those guys?"

" _Facial scan was unable to place three of the four offenders. The fourth is David Hoss, arrested in 2012 for illegally tampering and exchanging with Chitauri equipment he obtained in the aftermath of the fight."_

His eyes widened and he froze. This was stuff that all the Avengers combined had difficulty containing, and Peter was a child. An inexperienced kid. "Where is he now?" He asked, his hand over his mouth.

" _Hoss is-"_

"Not Hoss, _Peter_!" Tony interrupted in anger, trying to ignore the sound of his thudding heart.

" _I am unsure."_ Friday replied ambiguously, and Tony instantly extended his arm out towards his display of suits. " _The last clip places him in a city job centre."_ The AI informed, and a five-second video of him being flung through the glass window was projected. A newsman grimaced as the video retreated into the corner of the screen. "He saves his neighbourhood, but in a situation like this, whose going to save him, is what everyone wants to know." He concluded, and the video of Peter blew up on the screen again.

Rhodey ducked when the suit parts came flying across the room. "You don't even know where he is!"

Tony staggered backwards, "I will." He said, making his way out. "Okay, locate Hoss, Peter has to be near-"

* * *

Peter struggled. Whatever the thing was that had tightly wrapped around him, it wasn't anything that was supposed to exist. He could feel the jagged metal edges ripping through the suit and into his skin. He was clawing at it mid-air when he landed on the floor. The thing was gone.

He looked up quickly and watched as the four appeared again, all with different unusual-looking 'weapons' in their hands. He glanced up at the building and threw a web, swinging upwards and just narrowly avoiding a shot.

"Just run." He whispered to himself as he reaches the roof and ran across. They wouldn't hurt civilians, they were after him, and if he had the chance to just get out of sight and take his suit off, he could get out alive. He was on the opposite side within seconds and just about to jump downwards when a _clickering_ sound started following him closely behind.

He turned and didn't have the chance to react when the clawing rope tied around him again. It dug deeper this time. It looked like _one_ streak of those things the Avengers had fought. He cried out in pain when it got tighter and haphazardly flung his hands towards his stomach, where it was wrapped around.

He kicked his legs in the air, his hands tightly grasping the metal contraption. He was holding onto it from both sides and pulling, and it was tearing apart, but too slowly. He yelled in rage and he didn't see it coming. One second, the thing was wrapped around him, and the second, it rolled and twisted, throwing him right off the building.

He had no control, he went spiralling off the roof and into mid-air. His hands were flying, and he tried webbing, but it didn't work. It took two seconds at most, and he smashed through a window of the opposite building.

I took him a second to regain consciousness, and the second he did, he gasped in pain. He could feel small glass chips under his palms, and something pressing against his stomach. He rolled onto his back and cried out, looking down at his hoodie. He pulled a sharp piece out and brought it in front of him to take a look since it was so dark, and then flinched when something flew through the window and past him, breaking a table behind him.

He rolled and got himself out-of-view, sighing and swearing under his breath. He looked up to see that the building was cleared. It was past eight, after all. The lights were dim, and it felt like a horrible atmosphere where miserable people spent their days answering calls at their desks.

He pushed the useless thoughts out of his head and stood up, walking down against the wall until he reached the door. He saw the corridor and then the bright green sign pointing to the fire exit, where he started limping towards, still out of breath.

He kicked open the door and rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He looked up and started running again - past a few trashcans and more dumped garbage. He looked up and tried webbing up, but there was nothing. He looked down at both wrists, and both of his webbers were gone.

He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, "that's okay. It's okay." He told himself, forcing another run and reaching the end of the alley. He tripped and instinctively moved his hands forward to balance himself. He was ready to run straight when he saw one of them again. Nope, all four were there already, covering all his exits.

"No-no need to get pushy." Peter said with a fake laugh as he squinted in pain. "We can-we can all walk away." He said nervously.

The man in front just frowned, "we're not the ones worried right now." He replied, tilting his head as the metal death trap appeared next to him.

"Seriousl-what the hell is that thing?" He yelled, unable to control his annoyance and anger.

"It _will_ be the thing that kills you."

"I don't even know you." Peter frowned, moving back in fear.

"I know you. Genius kid trying to take down the illegal doings of his perfect neighbourhood. _Some_ of us have work. _Some_ of us aren't happy and rich like you.

"You're-you've been trading that stuff." Peter realised, hoping at that moment that he hadn't been to the party with Ned, where all his problems started.

"None of your business what I've been trading, Spider-Man." He scoffed, shaking his head as he stepped back.

"Wait!" Peter said in a last attempt, bringing up both hands in defeat. "I'll stop. As long as people don't get hurt-"

"People get hurt. What the hell do you think I'm selling this shit for? I can't have a kid on my tail at every turn." He dismissed, and the little metal snakes jumped across the opposite alley towards him.

He ran back towards the building. He ran faster than he'd ever done before, than he thought was possible even for him. He looked up at the door and jumped, sticking his hands against the wall above it as he watched the things smash their way inside.

He wasn't halfway up when he felt the stabbing pain in his back as the claws dug in. His hand slipped, sending him down as his head hit the corner of the extending door frame.

This all felt like a bad dream, and he wished it was, because there was no way out. His temple was stinging, and he only had time to punch one of the arms back with all his strength before the other climbed over him.

He grabbed it and started pulling at both sides to snap it. There was a sudden, stinging pain in his right side. His breaths came out in short gasps as his head shook and he looked down to see the thing retreat. Shit.

"Ah shit, n-no-," his hands instantly moved to cover up the hole in his body. He was thrown backwards against the wall without warning, and felt burning tears in his eyes.

A whistle interrupted the fight and the metal things slithered away. Peter watched and then moved his bloody hand up and tugged at his mask weakly, throwing it against the opposite wall in pain and anger. Bad idea, he thought instantly, he should've used it to stop the bleeding.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen was smashed, and he turned it on, which was surprising. He tried calling May, and then the phone switched off. He was ready to scream, and threw the phone aside. "Come on." He said to himself, "some-someone help!" He yelled as loud as he could, but he was not only surrounded by closed office buildings, but also in the corner of an alley.

He closed his eyes and kept his hands pressed against his wound for another few minutes before a loud crash startled him. He looked to his right and watched as a blur of red came closer.

"Peter." A voice projected through the suit.

Peter squinted, his vision blurring further. He couldn't see what it was and his eyes fluttered, trying to focus and get a closer look. He forced himself up against the wall and started shifting backwards into the corner.

"Peter!" Tony yelled again, "it's me-where-" he looked around the basically pitch-black area for anyone else and then took a few steps forwards.

He recognised the bright light in the middle of the suit and stopped shuffling, gasping and holding onto his stomach as he slid back down.

Tony pursed his lips under his faceplate when he saw the streak of bloody on the wall.

" _Fatal stab wound to the stomach detected. Peter needs medical attention."_ Friday warned, voice calm in the chaos, which slightly annoyed Tony.

"Peter." Tony said again, his hand moving up to his faceplate. Within a small click, he was out and pacing towards his young protege. "Let's chalk it up to bad decisions on both parts, huh?" He said, his voice shaking as he tried to make light of a not-so-light situation.

Peter's hands were trembling, shaking uncontrollably. He tried. He tried to stop the bleeding, but it didn't seem to help. He should be healing. Why wasn't he healing? Then Tony was there, and he didn't remember seeing him walk over. But he tried to ignore that, because not long down that chain of thoughts was _"Am I dreaming?"_ , and that wouldn't do him any good.

Tony was towering over and soon pressing against the injury with his jacket. "It's okay, buddy, we'll sort it out." He reassured Peter, who looked like he'd either pass out or break down, and both were undesirable options. "Friday! Get my medics here!" He called, and he looked up as the suit prodded over. "Peter don't pass out." Tony scolded as soon as Peter shut his eyes. "Just, don't do that." He continued.

It wasn't the place or the time, he knew, but he couldn't stop himself. He was scared. Peter looked up and shook his head in clear disagreement, "I don-don't what the h-hell those things were!" Peter said in defence as loud as he could, stopping to breathe after nearly every word, knowing that his finished sentence didn't make proper sense.

Tony frowned, "they're-they're bad people. This isn't on you." Tony said, eyes red and watery as he watched Peter fidget in discomfort.

Peter shook his head again, "why isn't it-healing?" He sniffled, his hands tightly clutching the jacket that Tony was also holding. "I'm not g-gonna die, am I?" He asked, tears falling still.

Tony scoffed as if he'd said something unbelievable, "no. No, you're not-you're fine." He said loudly, and Peter was clearly ignoring him.

"Oh-no-I shouldn't have-" he broke off into a cry. Tony was about to say something, but Peter's hand was suddenly on his shoulder as the boy leaned forwards. "Can-can you tell-no-May-" he said incoherently.

He didn't freeze a lot. There weren't a lot of things that scared him, but Peter staring at him with those scared eyes as he mumbled on was one of them. He froze, like he did when he watched _that_ video.

He snapped out of it and took hold of him, "she'll be fine, because you'll be fine." He said, and that didn't sit well with Peter. "I'll take care of it." He said quickly for assurance.

Peter nodded, "you will", he whispered to himself, "yeah." He said, his hand sliding down Tony's shirt, although Tony took hold of it. It was cold.

Tony was now pressing down on the injury, while Peter's head was slumped against his chest.

"Just a little longer." He said, trying to look down at him when he didn't reply. "Peter!" He yelled, shaking him just a little. No response. He felt his own chest tighten.

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

Peter stared at the ceiling. He stared at the small hole he'd accidentally layered through. It was hardly noticeable, you had to look for it to know. It was Friday evening, and he'd blown off Ned the past week. Actually, ever since he had his accident. He sighed sadly and was about to take another nap when there was a loud knock on the door.

He looked at his door and contemplated going. It couldn't be anyone important, he thought, May had a key and Ned would call. He groaned when it knocked again, practically falling off the bed and dragging himself to the door.

He looked through the tiny whole and frowned, stepping back and thinking about going back to his room when the person on the opposite side spoke.

"Open the door, I can see you." Tony said loudly from the other side. Peter rolled his eyes and turned the lock, swinging the door open. "Was that so hard?"

"What are you-where's Happy?" Peter questioned, looking past Tony for a brief second.

"Not here. It's just me." Tony answered, making his way in uninvited before Peter could stop him. "I thought it was time for a little chat." Tony continued, barging through into Peter's room, who was catching up to him after he closed the door.

"That's my room!" Peter shouted from behind, trying to stop him going in.

Tony frowned, "not like I haven't seen-" he stopped, standing at the door and eyeing the mess. There were snapped pencils on the floor near his desk, a hole in the bed frame which Tony guessed Peter had punched because there were smudged specks of red near it, an of course the empty of his bedside table because everything that was supposed to be on it was now on the floor. He turned to face Peter, who was pursing his lips with his head hung down.

"I don't even wanna ask." Tony stated, but it came out in a more worried tone than he intended.

Peter jumped on that, "great, so you can lea-" he stopped talking when Tony started walking to the corner of his room.

"I don't want to, but I have to." He looked closely at a biology mindmap that had been haphazardly taped to the wall.

Peter scowled, "that's mine!" He said, about to move in front before Tony ripped it down to reveal another hole in the wall. He heard Peter mutter something under his breath and turned to face him with the scraps of paper in his hand.

"Turned your room into your punching bag?" Tony asked, tossing the paper in the small bin next to the desk.

"I don't know what you...mean." He said, scratching the back of his head. "That was-that was already there-"

"Uh huh." Tony dismissed, "the blood as well?"

Peter squinted, "there's no blood." He said instantly. "It was there when we moved in." Peter lied, badly though, but he was trying.

"It wasn't there last time I came here." Tony stated, picking up one of many broken pencils from his desk.

"How would you know?" Peter asked incredulously - that was months ago.

Tony turned around, "FRIDAY, last time I-"

"Okay! Okay, _maybe_ it was me." Peter admitted quietly.

Tony sighed, "okay, now that that's out of the way, can I ask _why_?" He asked softly, chucking the half end of the pencil into the bin too.

Peter stared at the carpet for a few seconds and then looked up, "no, you can't. You can leave." Peter said, clearly very upset.

"Peter, a lot of… _things_ happened that day." Tony said, choosing his words carefully, because one of the things was that _technically_ , this boy standing in front of him had died. Tony cleared his throat, "and a lot of them were on me, sure, but-"

"I don't care about that." Peter dismissed, turning to leave his room.

Tony grabbed his arm and his eyes caught the broken doorknob. Wow. "You're having trouble sleeping." Tony stated. Peter frowned.

"No I'm-"

"Yes you are. Your eyes are-" _sad. Tired_. "Have you talked to anyone?"

"No, because superhero therapists don't exist." Peter replied with sarcasm. "And I can't talk in metaphors." He added quickly as if he knew what Tony was about to say.

"May knows, your friends-"

"I don't want to talk to them." He said, really hating the fact that they were still in his room, where he'd slowly bashed things up for the past two weeks. That's why he didn't let May in.

Tony put his hand over his mouth before he spoke, "are you having nightmares?"

"No." Peter replied without skipping a beat.

"Let me rephrase. You _are_ having nightmares-"

"It's not a big deal! It's been like two weeks, everyone's past it-"

"You're not past it. _I'm_ not past it. Look, I told you to just 'deal with it', and that was horrible advice."

Peter sighed, "I'm fine."

"Oh, I can see." Tony replied sarcastically, looking around the room in a gesturing manner.

"It's nothing, I'm still-"

"It's not nothing."

"No it wasn't, I mean it _was_ nothing, not wasn't-"

"Zip it." Tony said, and Peter frowned, looking at the ground now. "What happened that night-"

Peter spoke with nothing but frustration in his voice, "is over-we're all alive and happy-"

"No one here is _happy_!" Tony said, but it came out louder and harsher than he intended,

"Okay, Mr Stark, why aren't you happy? _I'm_ happy-"

"You're room, for one,-"

"Nightmares don't make you depressed-"

"Stop talking. You're not making _any_ sense." Tony said again, because saying short snappy things like that usually worked, but this time it really, really seemed to annoy him.

" _You_ stop talking." Peter snapped, " _you_ stop! Because this is _your_ fault!" He raged, getting closer to Tony, who looked a little hurt and surprised and was now moving back.. "You keep telling me to stop and-" he brought up his right hand to the back of his head in panic and-

"Peter-"

"I'm not-I'm not doing the right thing." He said as if he'd a sudden moment of apprehension.

"That's not true."

"You don't know that."

Tony exhaled, "I do know that."

"Then why do I feel like this?" He asked seriously, frowning and waiting for a real answer.

"Because you're a good person. And good people always question whether-"

Peter shook his head in disagreement, "no-"

"You saved a whole city because no one else listened to you. Me being one of those people, but that's not the point. The point is, that an evil person wouldn't have done that."

"Right."

"I'm serious."

"I know!" Peter said in acknowledgement.

"I'm sorry, for what it's worth."

"Thanks."

* * *

Thanks for the reviews again! This was based on a prompt by Nindragon :)


	13. Chapter 13: Run

"-give him the 'dad talk'". Toomes smiled.

Peter watched uncomfortable as Liz got out of the car and shut the door behind her.

"Let's take a quick ride, shall we, Pete?" Toomes smiled.

Peter brought up his hand to the back of his head, "I actually have to get inside-"

Toomes moved forwards and opened the dashboard, pulling out his gun and leaning his arm where Peter could see.

Peter froze - his heart was thudding against his chest in fear and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Shall we, Pete?" Toomes smirked, staring at Peter, who was looking back in pure fear as his heart raced. "I said, shall we?" He repeated with slight anger in his tone.

Peter felt chills run down his spine, "yeah-yes." He stammered quietly as he looked back at the gun and then out the window as he watched Liz enter the building.

Toomes chuckled humourlessly, "who would've guessed Spider-Man would just come to _me_ , just like that?"

Peter watched as Toomes drove out of the area. They weren't taking a 'ride', he was going to kill him. "I'm-I don't know what you're talking about." Peter attempted, even though it was more than obvious.

"Don't play games with me, Pete, I'm not twelve." Toomes groaned. "I'm not-understand when I say that I admire what you're doing." He continued, taking a left down an empty road surrounded by trees after driving for five minutes.

"I'm not doing anything." Peter said, determined to not give himself up.

Toomes glanced back at him and grinned, "you're trying to take down the big baddies. You should've stuck to store thieves and whatnot."

They drove another ten minutes and Peter was getting ready to kick the door down and jump out into the road from the moving car, but it came to a stop.

"One of the quietest areas in the city." Toomes said, turning around to Peter, who had pushed himself as close to the door as he could.

"I'll leave you alone." Peter whispered as his breathing paced.

"You do me that honour? You won't have to." Toomes grabbed the gun from the front seat and before he could pull it at Peter, Peter kicked down the opposite door with both feet and slid out.

Toomes swore and pointed the gun out of the window, but lost him. He looked down the road and scowled, getting out after him.

Peter stumbled straight into the trees. It was dark and it was nighttime, which meant there was the lowest chance that Toomes could see him.

He ran as fast as he could away from the car. "Run. Just run." He told himself, considering it was his life on the line here.

He stopped five minutes in. It may not have seemed like much, but it had to be quite far from the road considering his speed.

He leaned against one of the trees and panted, bending down and putting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He searched his pockets with shaking hands. He could barely hold his phone when he found it.

First he called Happy's number, but if was busy. "No, come on!" He whispered as loud he could, and called Tony next. It rang for a few seconds before he heard the crunching of leaves behind him. He ended the call immediately and pressed the phone against his chest as he tried to stop himself from breathing so loud.

"I have these glasses, Pete - made them myself. I'll see you - wherever you are." Toomes' voice echoed in the forest, as Peter stood frozen in his position,breathing shakily.

No one made a sound for another minute, and the rustling of leaves that Peter was sure was from Toomes was getting further and further away. He waited and heard the man mumbling something in the back, and then moved east in the opposite direction.

The phone that was still pressed against his chest vibrated, and Peter slowly lifted it off, lowing the brightness to minimum before calling again.

" _Parker, I hope you're not calling to get the suit-"_

 _"_ I'm in-I need help-" Peter interrupted, suppressing a cough from the cold and then freezing again when he heard something blast meters from where he was standing.

" _What the-what was that? Where are you?_ " Tony bellowed in the phone, but it was more like angry shouts than questions.

Peter looked back and crouched down next to a wide stump, "I don't know-he knows who I am-he's seen my face!" Peter whispered in a panic.

" _Who knows?"_ Tony waited for a reply but didn't get one. " _Peter!_ "

The steps got closer, and Peter pressed the phone against his chest again, leaning his head against the stump and trying his hardest not to breathe too loud. He could hear the phone and hastily pressed down on the volume switches to stop it from echoing off his chest.

When he thought he hadn't heard anything for a while, he started climbing the tree. The thought that it would be much faster if he had his webs kept running through his head. He reached as far up as he could and then tried to focus around him. He could see small bits and pieces, but no Toomes.

"Hello?" He said in a barely audible tone as he took out his phone again

There was a murmur in the back before Tony answered, " _what was that?"_ He repeated his earlier question.

Before Peter could say something, there was a shuffle on the ground. "Liz tells me you live with your aunt." Toomes stated, and Peter could hear the scraping of his weapon against the trees as the man walked right under him. "I don't usually do this type of thing. It's just not what I do." He said in a tone that made him sound like he was the victim here.

Peter was as still as possible, which he knew was unnecessary, since Toomes wasn't the one with enhanced hearing, but who knewx

"I've never had to. What I do, Pete, it isn't-it hardly ever turns into something big." He justified, sighing so loud that even Peter could hear. "But now it has. Only because of you. You should've stayed in school. Focused on that- _what does she do_ -Decathlon. That's it."

Peter could see a head bobbing up and down as Toomes strolled under him. _How useful the suit would've been right here-_

The branch he was on snapped. No, it didn't _snap_ , it was shot at from under him. Peter scrambled and tried sticking onto the tree, but not only was it really dark, but he was in such a panic that he didn't see it coming, and landed on the floor.

"A bright red blob really stands out." Toomes pointed out. Before he could finish saying that, Peter was running in the opposite direction, smacking twigs and branches out of his way as a ray of targeted shots followed him closely behind.

 _The phone_. He could hardly breathe because he was running so fast, but the idea that he'd just dropped the phone back there was eating away in his mind, because other than that, he had no idea of knowing where he was or how to get out.

He only noticed the stabbing pain a few minutes into the run. _Stitches_. He always got stitches in Gym, which was why he was always last. Well, with MJ and Ned. But no, that was before the bite. Now that was a memory. He used the fact that he had to be at least a hundred feet ahead of him to quickly touch his side. It was bleeding.

He got unlucky, because the next _bang_ was followed by a shooting pain in his shoulder. He yelled out loud and staggered, nearly tripping over the leaves flying under his feet. He felt himself slow down and there were a million more things on his mind, which is why he didn't notice the ground disappear under his feet.

It only took a few seconds, maybe more, to tumble down the edge. The last thing he saw was the lit up city ahead of him. Then he was gasping, closing his eyes tightly as twigs hit his face one after the other without a break.

"Peter?" A voice shouted less than a minute later.

He could hardly breathe, but he could make out the cautious shouts from up the cliff. No way the old man would jump to check, he thought. He continued to wheeze, laying facing down on damp soil before finding the urge to roll over on his back. He brought up his hand to his shoulder and groaned, coughing up dirt.

He stopped focusing on himself and listened for the shouts, which had now stopped, and then stared at the sky. It took another minute to snap out of _that_ , and then he pressed down on his shoulder with his right hand, trying to get on his knees. He patted down on his pockets. No phone.

 _Someone would notice he wasn't there._ He kept thinking it, but then there was Liz. Her dad. Her dad, who would call her and say something like 'oh, he wasn't feeling well so I dropped him off, don't worry.' He scowled at the thought. He'd called Mr Stark, but how would they find him? No. They'd find him.

He was felt the blood pulse under his hand and cried out, tightening his grasp to stop the pain.

* * *

"You sure this is the place?" Rhodey said, walking around the creeping trees.

Tony scanned the area, "one hundred percent. Friday, where's the phone?"

Before his AI could answer, he started moving towards something popping on his screen. He looked around and stepped out of the suit.

"You think that's a smart idea?" Rhodey called as soon as he saw.

"You got my back, right?" Tony replied jokingly, bending down and picking up the small, smashed device.

Rhodey got closer, keeping a close lookout. "That the phone?"

Tony frowned, "it _was_ the phone." The screen was now frozen on a dimly lit white screen, with blood smudged across it. He looked up from his position and felt a pang of panic.

"Maybe he got out. He's a smart kid." Rhodey said hopefully.

"He didn't get out." Tony said almost instantly, getting back up and into his suit. "Scan the whole place." He flew upwards without waiting for a reply, hovering over the deathly jungle. "Any heat-" he saw a small red dot to his south and dive down, landing on his feet as he stumbled forwards.

He heard Rhodey land just a second after him, and they both closed down on the outline of the body they could see.

"Friday?" Tony asked, and this time he waited for an answer.

" _There seems to be bullet wound to the shoulder, and an artificial injury to the stomach. Figure is unconscious._ " Friday replied.

Tony got much closer before he stepped out of the suit. The light from the arc reactor was more than enough for him to make out that it was definitely Peter.

"Peter?" Tony asked, bending down and looking him over. He could make out cuts on his face, but more importantly, the blood on his white shirt. He was wearing a suit.

"Shit." Rhodey gasped, standing on the other side of Tony.

"Peter, wake up." Tony said calmly. There was a heartbeat - he wasn't dead. "We have to get him out."

Rhodey frowned. "I already contacted the medics-"

Tony nudged him with his hand, and Peter gasped awake, clenching his fists with dirt and dead leaves. He grabbed the cold metal pressing against his chest and tried his hardest to push it off.

"It's me!" A metallic nvoice said in response, but that didn't do a lot for Peter, who cried out and tried shifting backwards.

"Hey, little guy, we got you,," Rhodey said in a firm tone. Peter squirmed under their hold, clawing around the metal hand that was on his shoulder.

Rhodey glanced at Tony, "you sure that's not hurting him?"

Tony looked down at his hand, "I'm stopping the bleeding." He justified in a confused tone.

Peter was hyperventilating, and Tony and Rhodey got ready to move. "Breathe, you have to breathe," Tony said, focused on the injury.

"I can't." Peter finally said, his face scrunching up in evident pain.

"You can, just-"

Peter's breathing slowed and his grip on Tony's hand weakened, his hand falling to one side.

"Peter. I need you to stay awake!" Tony said in a scolding tone. "Rhodey-"

"Medics are too far out."

"Then we take him."

Rhodey contemplated the idea and then nodded, bending down next to Tony.

* * *

"It went clean-through."

"Okay, and the-" he waved his hands vaguely around his stomach.

"That didn't do him much harm, it was a small cut."

Tony nodded, "so he's, what, fine now?"

The doctor shook her head, "He'll live. There is a lot of bruising on the face, but I'm hopeful that'll clear up quickly with his healing factor." She said, giving him a small smile before making her way down the corridor.

He waited a few seconds, after the doctor was definitely out of sight, then headed in. It was strange. He'd never seen Peter like that. Granted, they didn't spend a lot of time together, but seeing him injured shook him up.

"Poor face." A voice said, and he turned around to see Maria.

Tony frowned, he hadn't seen her in forever. He looked her up and down, "interns. Always falling down stairs." He said like matter-of-fact.

"Yeah? Your interns get shot falling down stairs?"

"What do you want? Where did you come from?" Tony cut to it, cocking his head.

Maria nodded, "how'd you find him?"

"It's not hard when you know what you're looking for."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"You didn't answer mine. What do you want?"

"I'm not here to sell him out, if that's what you're thinking."

"Who said I was thinking that?"

"I came here for a reason. I joined _you_ for a reason. I'd never do that." She reassured him, handing him a file. "Unrelated matter." She added quickly in response to a suspicious stare.

She turned to leave and Tony sighed, "what do you know, exactly?" He asked, glancing to Peter to signal what he was talking about.

She looked at Peter, "that a teenager has a billionaire looking out for him." She smirked, and he smiled, watching her make her way out.

He was about to turn back to Peter when Pepper walked in, also carrying a confused look as she looked down the corridor.

"I haven't seen her in a while."

Tony rolled his eyes, "people just can't seem to stop being at the wrong place at the wrong time." He remarked, looking at Pepper now.

"You okay?" She asked, grimacing a little when she took a look at Peter. "Is _he_ okay?"

"Apparently." Tony said, not sounding totally convinced.

Pepper smiled, "well, perks of being a superhero, huh." She said quietly, setting down her file on the table next to the door.

Tony shook his head, "he shouldn't have been there."

Pepper looked up, "why? Where was he?"

"In some for-it doesn't matter. The point is, he shouldn't have been there." He repeated, running his hand over his face. "And he should be healed by now." He looked back at Peter's bruised face. There were tiny plasters and bandages nearly all over him.

"You know who did this?" She said, her tone instantly switching to serious and worried.

"I have an idea." He replied, looking Peter over again. "I ignored the first call." He admitted, saying it like it was a terrible confession.

"His call?"

"I took the suit and I assumed he'd ask for it again so I let it go, and then he called again. If I hadn't-"

"But you did, so stop being like that." She patted his shoulder, "he'll be up and running in no time."

* * *

Peter woke up hazily, his eyes staring at the wall for at least minute before he moved himself. The left side of his body felt numb, and he felt small shooting pains in his face when he winced.

He sighed and rolled over, to his side, pulling out some of the tubes sticking to his arm. It made him feel sick. He sat up, feet dangling off the bed.

No windows, he noticed, trying to ignore the face of Liz's dad that kept popping up in the back of his thoughts. He noticed the scratches on his arm when his hoodie sleeve pulled up. He pushed it down and put his head in his hands, feeling a headache coming on. This wasn't his hoodie, why was he wearing it?

He hopped off and his face scrunched up at the pain. His shoes were under a chair next to the bed, and he quickly put them on, pulling up the overly long sweatpants. He made his way out as soon as he tied the laces.

Two corridors. No signs. He looked left and right, then went with right, walking and turning and ending up facing a huge living room. Someone was watching TV, someone else was staring through the window, unnervingly still, and there was a lady on the phone in the back.

He stepped backwards and didn't turn until he was sure they wouldn't see. He turned, running into something and jumping back instantly.

"Busy day?" Tony asked sarcastically, bringing up a hand in mid-air to say _no harm_.

Peter was surprised, and opened his mouth to speak-

"Come on." Tony gestured with his index finger and started walking towards the room.

Peter awkwardly followed. He didn't want to go in there in front of all those people, but followed.

The lady glanced up and went back to talking on the phone, and the man watching TV, who he was sure was the War Machine, also took a glance and made a face at Tony, who dismissed it.

"Glad to see you are well."

Peter nearly yelled, feeling his heart skip a beat.

"Vision. I'm not having this conversation again." Tony scolded, and the human-robot nodded, stepping backwards.

"My apologies. Hello, Peter. How are you?" Vision asked.

Peter stared dumbfounded. "Uh-yeah-I'm good." He said, continuing to walk behind Tony who had left him seconds ago.

They reached his workshop and he walked in first as Peter slowly dragged behind, standing closely behind Tony, who was now seated and staring and messing with Peter's suit.

"Added a few things." Tony said, looking to his right for Peter, who wasn't there. He turned quickly and sighed in relief when he saw him standing in front of the huge mirrors.

Peter assumed it was there to check out Tony's new suits, since every time he saw it on TV, the suit looked broken. He wondered how many suits his mentor had made. But those were all thoughts at the back of his mind.

All he could see at that moment was himself. His face. Small cuts all over his face. He blinked and his frown got deeper.

Tony noticed, looking at him for a few seconds in guilt before speaking up, "it'll heal."

Peter broke out of his thoughts and nodded, "yeah."

"Peter, listen." Tony started, and Peter turned. "The guy who did this-"

Then Peter moved back in realisation, "you got him?" He interrupted, listening to his own heart _thud_ louder and louder against his chest.

Tony looked away, "no, but-"

"He's seen me!" Peter yelled in a high-pitched tone that Tony frowned at.

"I _know_ that." He said, "there's a police search out for him, he won't be lurking around here any time soon."

Peter looked at him with a mix of fear and anger, "what did you do?"

"Nothing involving you personally." He waited for confirmation and continued only when Peter thought about it for nearly a minute and then nodded. "I'm not gonna lecture you on leaving the hospital room after being shot." He said, and Peter brought up a hand to his shoulder. He'd forgotten too many things.

"I was just trying to-"

"I don't care. I _do_ care about what happened tragically last night."

"Tragically? No one died." Peter shrugged, blinking at the headache and walking to sit opposite Tony.

Tony looked at him incredulously, "no one died? You almost did." Tony said harshly and loudly at Peter, who wasn't looking at him anymore.

"Did you tell May?" He asked quietly.

"No. They said you'd be fine and I figured that would be up to you."

"I'm not telling her." Peter said, because he felt the need to.

"Good. Because if you did, I'd be the one who looked like a-for not telling her that her nephew nearly died. Anyway, why didn't you have your webby things?"

Peter sighed, "because it was homecoming. I was gonna take a night off and just…go to homecoming, because people don't try and just kill you like that, and then I saw her dad and-" He scrunched up his fists and stopped himself from rambling.

"It's not your-"

"Fault, I know, _I'm_ not the one going around killing people." Peter remarked, and Tony made a face, because Peter was starting to talk like him.

"No you're not." He smiled, "how about you go down and catch a movie?"

"I need to call May."

"I called her already. Tell Vision to come with you, he never understands what's happening so that should be fun." Tony shooed, and Peter hopped off the stool.

"Thanks, Mr Stark." He said before leaving, and Tony nodded.

* * *

Long wait! Anyway, if you're interested, you can re-read the first chapter, I updated it (like completely changed it), because it kinda wasn't that good.

Leave reviews!


	14. Chapter 14

"In there! He's-he's crazy!" A teenage boy yelled, holding onto Peter's arm with a pained expression.

"It's okay, just get everyone away from here." Peter replied, looking up at the building. "Can you do that?"

The boy hesitated, "I don't think you should go in there, Spider-Man, that thing's crazy." He quickly turned at the shouts of a woman behind him.

"You did great, and all you need to do now is help me by helping them." Peter explained, a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Can you do that?" He asked when the boy didn't reply.

"Yeah. Okay, dude, just be careful…" he shook his head and trailed off, giving him a thumbs up as he walked off to help the injured group of people.

Peter watched them and then turned his eyes back at the foreboding building. He walked towards it cautiously, stopping at the broken double doors.

"Ned?"

" _I'm here, and I think you should go back. That guy's clearly crazy, it's nearly ten-thirt-"_

"Go back? That guy-thing killed people, and he's there, right now!"

" _Exactly, he killed people, dude, maybe you should just wait for the cops or call Mr-"_

"He's there _now_ , he'll get away if we wait!" Peter whisper-shouted. his face ducked into the corner on the side of the door.

" _Dude, I'm telling you as your best friend and helper, you can't go in there-"_

An echo inside disrupted his conversation and Peter looked up inside the doors. He squinted and saw the light movements with the night vision in his suit.

"Hello?" He shouted, kicking the door open further and walking in, quickly scanning the area around him. A hand fell to his feet and he jumped, bending down quickly to check for a pulse, which wasn't there. "Shit."

 _"What's happening?"_ Ned asked in panic.

"A man…he's-he's dead."

" _Pet-"_ the bluetooth buzzed and Peter frowned.

"Ned? Ned!" He whispered as loud as he could, sighing in frustration.

He walked forwards and frowned at the shuffle near the half crumbled stairs. "Hey!" He ran and webbed the ceiling, swinging up and landing on the second floor.

"The police's coming, you might as well just-"

An object flung right by him and he stumbled to the side, quickly turning around and blindly shooting a web in the distance and hiding behind a pillar.

He was about to take a look when the pillar crumbled, seconds from falling on him as he ran to the second one. "We can talk! If you stop trying to kill me-"

"I don't need to talk." A deep voice answered, and Peter frowned.

"Karen, keep him in sight." He ordered, and turned to see a strangely shaped outline glowing brightly.

" _I would advise leaving and calling for backup, Peter, he seems to be using armour."_

"We've dealt with armour before." Peter said quickly and quietly.

"I'm not harming anyone." The voice said again.

Peter scoffed, " _harming_? There's a dead guy downstairs, you kidnapped all those-"

"Leave."

"I'm sorry, dude, but I can't keep letting you run around killing people." Peter replied, keeping his eyes on the red outline behind the pillar without moving an inch.

"Test subjects, those people won't be missed."

"That's not for you to decide."

"Then you won't be missed." The man said without hesitation, and Peter squinted at the outline, jumping back when the distance between them disappeared in seconds. He locked down and threw one of the pieces of crumbled concrete towards the man, taking advantage of the fall to circle to the back.

"I definitely _will_ be!" He shouted, webbing the legs and pulling backwards. "I have lots-" he slammed down something metal and pokey that nearly hit him, "-of people that'd miss me!"

"Then you shouldn't be spending your time-" the man turned and clawed at Peter with something inhuman, "-in this part of town!" He added a humourless laugh, and for some reason, that surprised Peter enough for the man to kick his leg, sending him flat on his back.

"It's all Queens, isn't it?" Peter said, dodging a hit to the face.

The more or less harmless tactics had to have continued for another ten minutes before it happened. He got ready to throw a web and the thing clawed at his face. Peter felt the cold metal slash down the side of his face and he yelled, tripping backwards and feeling that same pain, but worse, across his stomach.

" _Peter, you should definitely-"_

He screamed, because he felt like he'd just been ripped apart. His hands shook wildly as he stared at the ceiling from the floor.

His screams turned into gasps, and he was being dragged across the floor in the next few seconds.

"The armour's not quiet done." He heard the man speak, but it was a echoey statement that disappeared in the background before he could properly comprehend it. "But we're making progress."

Peter squirmed, inhaling for air and trying to grasp at the floor to stop himself from being tugged across.

He blinked a few times to get a better look and webbed at the hinge connecting the claw and the man's arm, pulling at it as hard as he could. It must've broken something, because he heard swearing.

There was a pause and the thing turned to face him again. He heard a smash right next to his face and squinted, feeling the floor crumbled underneath him. Of course that was the perfect time to run out of web.

There was a loud grumbling noise as the building shook, the concrete underneath him disappearing. He scrambled to his feet as soon as he fell through, stopping himself from passing out.

He looked up at the hole in the floor above, breaking into a cough. He hunched over and exhaled, hands on his knees as he glared at the door in front of him. He could see the yellow streetlight as a blur through the head injury and tears. _Okay, he couldn't handle this one._

" _Peter, you should get medical attention immediately."_ Karen stated obviously.

He started walking, eyes glued to the door. His walk turned into a sprint, and he took a breath of relief when he was outside.

There was the distance chatter of people on the nearby street, and he limped to the corner of the building. "Okay, Karen, call Mr Stark." He mumbled, sliding onto the floor and pressing his hands against the slash on his stomach.

Tony answered almost straight away, " _Spider-Man. How's the night going?"_

"It's…going, I-I need some help." Peter said, keeping his voice as normal as he could.

" _Yeah? That's a first, with what?_ "

"That-the metal monster guy, I-"

" _Right, right, the Metal Man? That what they're calling him?"_

"I found him and we-" he squeezed his eyes shut and let out a gasp.

" _What was that? You didn't fight him. That's why you're calling, right?"_

"I did…fight him, and it-it didn't go well, I need help." He said again, voice sounding more tired and sleepy.

" _Where did he get you?"_

 _"_ Kinda everywhere…" he trailed off.

" _That doesn't sound good."_

"Can you just please hurry?"

"I told you not to be an idiot, not do stuff like this, and that's obviously too hard for you." Tony said, landing in front of Peter, who was terrified out of his mind when he did, only relaxing when he saw who it was.

"What the hell happened?" Tony asked, a list of hotspots visible in front of him on Peter.

"That guy was stro-" he stopped again and cried out in pain.

Tony stepped out of the suit, bending down next to him and looking him over. There were two deep gashes on his chest and stomach, and another one running from his temple to his neck.

He looked at the wall Peter was leaning against, "is he in there?"

Peter winced, "yeah, yeah he's in there."

"Is it painful?"

"You're gonna leave him in there-" his face scrunched up and the sentence faded.

"Yes, because you're my top priority right now." He answered, looking up behind the wall again. He couldn't see anything with the suit and focused on Peter again.

Peter was tightly clutching his neck, feeling the blood under his hands from the cut. "It's-it's not stopping," he mumbled.

"Let me see." Tony ordered, one hand on Peter's as he slowly lifted it and squinted at the wound. It was deep, and Peter's breathing was quickening. "Doesn't look like it's hit anything, Friday?"

" _You are right, but it it causing an extensive loss of blood."_

"Okay, I underestimated." Tony muttered, more or less to himself. "Can you stand?"

"I can't-I can't even breathe." Peter whispered. Tony held his shoulder and frowned, "stay calm, you'll be fine."

He looked down at Peter's shaking right hand and traced his hand up to his shoulder, nothing so far.

"What are you doing?"

"It's shaking." Tony answered, gripping his shoulder and removing his hand to see the blood. He pulled Peter forwards and felt around the back of his shoulder, stopping when he felt something sticking out. He huffed in frustration and that caught Peter's attention.

"What-what is it?" He tried turning his head and Tony stopped him, holding his face with one hand and turning it away.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Does it hurt around the shoulder?"

"No, no, tell me what's-" he broke into a cough and the shaking got worse.

"Just look at me, you'll be…"

That was the last thing he heard before his eyes closed. He could hear Tony calling to him in the back but couldn't keep himself from drifting off.

* * *

"I mean, Metal dude apparently has _metal_ claws, so it's pretty consistent. That was definitely what hit him." Helen nodded, looking through the window to where Peter was.

"So, it's nothing serious?"

Helen sighed, "actually, he damaged a nerve in the shoulder."

"But it'll heal?" Tony asked when he didn't continue with the diagnosis. "Helen, it'll heal?"

"It _hasn't_ healed, I don't know the extent of his healing factor, I don't know what to tell you."

"You can start with explaining what all that means."

"Okay, well we can start with pain, and a lot of it. I'm guessing his strength will also be affected, maybe there'll be some sensitivity to temperatures, light-"

"He already has that."

"Amplify it." Helen said, and Tony closed his eyes in frustration. "There might be some trouble with walking and…standing, I-we'll know when he wakes up."

"And there's nothing you can do?"

"I didn't say that, I can probably fix it, but I need to him to wake up first." Helen explained, "there won't be a point if he's going to heal in a few hours anyway."

Tony sighed, folding his arms and shaking his head, "I can't believe this, what was he thinking?" He stepped forwards in anger.

"Well, e does this everyday, I doubt he thought tonight was going to be any different." Helen said, earning a look from Tony, "hey, I keep up with the news." She smiled, "I'll be back tomorrow."

She walked off and Tony looked back through the window. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he reached down to pick up. "Hello?"

" _Is he with you? He better be with you, I'm seconds away from calling the-"_

"His-his phone broke, yeah, he's with me." Tony said as soon as he recognised that worried voice.

" _Broke? This is-_ " she sighed on the other side of the line, " _-let me talk to him. Now."_

 _"_ He-he got into a little accident-"

" _Little accident? What accident? Is he okay?"_

"Yeah, he's okay, I'm keeping him here for two-three days to make sure. Doctor's cleared him."

" _How? Was it-the news said it was that guy in metal?"_

"Yeah, he, uh, he fought him but he's here now, he's fine. Just keeping him to make sure."

 _"Okay. Okay, thanks."_

"I'll send you a car-"

" _I'm-well I'm not in Queens right now. I'll be back by five in the-"_

"He's fine. Don't drive overnight, I can keep him in one place till then." He smiled, and May sighed again.

 _"Tomorrow afternoon-evening by latest. Thanks, Tony."_

"Always." He ended the call and looked up at Peter before walking out. Peter would be asleep for most of the night if not all, and there was nothing he could do here.

* * *

"The armour's not quite done." A voice said, somewhere in the dark. Peter looked around in confusion, but it was too, well, black, to see anything. He felt something violently tug him from behind and grabbed the metal claw with his hand.

The ground disappeared under him and he screamed all the way down, which was a journey that didn't seem to end any time soon-

"Peter!"

The call jerked him awake, and he could hear himself gasp for air as his screaming died down. He grabbed the hand pushing his shoulder down and the grip softened, letting him sit up.

"Easy!" Tony said as Peter's eyes scanned the room, his face showing nothing but panic. "It's me."

Peter brought up his right hand to the back of his head and his face scrunched up in a mixture of pain and fear. Tony held him by the shoulder and stared at him, "Peter," he tried again, "it's okay." He reassured him, pulling him in for a light hug.

Peter looked down at his shaking left hand and frowned, "why's it still shaking?" He mumbled, feeling his heartbeat slowing and his breathing steadying.

"Hasn't healed yet, now stop worrying about that." Tony said, hearing Peter huff and move his head, which was resting against his shoulder. "It was a nightmare?"

"Uh huh." Peter whispered in shaky response, which was unintentional of course, because everything he said was coming out quieter than he intended.

"About what?" Tony asked, keeping Peter still in his hold.

"Uh, just-just falling somewhere." Peter said quietly. He could still feel his heart racing, but it was nothing like before.

Tony nodded slowly, "you're not there-"

"Anymore, I know. It was-I'm fine. I'm fine." He pulled away and blinked away the tears that had been forming.

"You damaged a nerve in your shoulder. If it doesn't heal, the doctor's will fix it." Tony informed him, noticing the pained face the boy made when he moved his shoulder.

"It'll heal." Peter said monotonously, sighing and frowning, "I know I said I'd ask for help last time, I'm sorry I didn't, I-"

"You didn't know it was gonna get that bad." Tony cut in, and Peter looked at him, surprised. "I'm not gonna be this nice next time, so cherish this."

Peter smiled, "thanks."

"Your aunt's coming today, afternoon, I think."

"Great." He pursed his lips, looking past Tony and at the floor in deep thought.

"Hey, it'll be fine, don't worry about it."

"Yeah, I know, I know, it'll heal soon,"

"That's not what I was talking about." Tony said, furrowing his brows. Peter looked up in confusion and then realised.

"Right, right, yeah." He yawned and squinted, running his hand through his hair.

Tony patted his shoulder, "get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right, okay." He replied as Tony got up. He watched him leave and then fell backwards onto the bed.

He stared at the white-painted ceiling for another few minutes, feeling something heavy on his chest - regret, sadness, things he hadn't felt before.

Exhaling, he closed his eyes, falling asleep again.

* * *

 **One month later**

He woke up to the sound of his phone blaring at 4:50. He opened his eyes, grabbed the phone and stopped it, sighing and throwing it on the other side of the bed.

He was ready thirty-minutes later, and threw his bag over his shoulders, making his way out of his room as quietly as he could. He closed the door behind him and turned, freezing when three familiar faces stared at him as if they'd caught a thief breaking in.

"What-what are you-" he stuttered, tensing and frowning.

May sighed, "where are you going?" She asked it softly, but it sounded condescending.

Peter opened his mouth to speak and looked at Tony and Happy, who were also waiting for an answer. "I'm-I have school."

"It's 5:20." She almost yelled, pausing when she saw him uncomfortably avoid her gaze. "It's 5:20, school doesn't start for another three hours. Where are you going?"

He glared at her and then at the other two visitors. "What is this? I don't-is this some sort of intervention-"

"No one said that." Tony spoke up for the first time, "we're just here to talk."

Peter looked back disbelievingly and scoffed, "at 5:30?"

"Why, what's so important, where could you possibly have to be at 5:30? Every single day for the last two weeks you're out before I even wake up. You-you go to sleep at around midnight and you're up just four hours later and-where do you go?" May scolded as quietly as she could.

Happy looked like he was the most uncomfortable out of the three adults. "We're just trying to help." He said quietly.

"Help with _what?_ I don't need help with anything!" Peter said loudly, pulling the doorknob of his room in as he walked towards the front door.

"Peter!" May called, and Tony grabbed his arm.

"Kid, just hear us out."

"I don't want to."

"That's too bad."

"It is." Peter nodded, pushing Tony back a little too hard as he watched the man stumble. He stepped forwards in reflex to help and then stopped.

"You're not going anywhere." May said, like she said everytime she grounded him, and this time Peter didn't listen. He looked at the disapproving faces and opened the front door, leaving before they could stop him.

He was halfway racing down the stairs when he stopped, closing his eyes and leaning against the railing.

He heard the tapping of another pair of shoes right behind him and and threw his head back in anger. "It's been two weeks, everyone gave you space, what the hell are you doing?"

He looked up the stairs to see Tony and huffed in annoyance, "what are _you_ doing?"

"We're not doing this, you said you're over it so act like it, or tell someone, because this is-"

"I accidentally-" was all he managed to say before he looked away and froze.

"What? You accidentally what?"

"I killed someone."

Tony frowned, moving his glasses down and staring intensely. "What?"

"I'm not…I went into that building and went upstairs and there was someone _downstairs_ that I didn't even bother to check, and then the-the building just-it fell, and-" he rubbed the back of his neck in panic.

Tony shook his head a little and looked through the railings before looking back at Peter. "You got hurt too, you can't get…you saved twenty lives." Tony justified, throwing up his hands in the air.

"Yeah, and I took one."

"You did not _take one."_ He unbuttoned his jacket and took a seat on the top of the stairs, nodding at Peter to join. Peter clenched his jaw and followed suit. "This is the first of many bad experiences you'll have."

"That doesn't help."

"It's not supposed to." He looked at Peter and cleared his throat, "you need to find a way to deal with it."

"I have. I found a great way to deal with it."

"Jumping off buildings in the winter for three hours in the morning isn't a way."

"You blew up your house. I think my way's fine."

"Yeah, well I'm not a role model."

"Out of all the Avengers, I'd say you are."

Tony smiled proudly, "your aunt-"

" _Pretends_ to not like you."

Tony smiled, "good to hear. You wanna go back upstairs now?"

Peter hesitated, "not really."

"Sorry, my fault for making it sound like you had a choice."

Peter scoffed, "thanks, Mr Stark."

"Call someone, like me, next time you have a crisis like this."

"Okay."

"I know you won't, but doesn't hurt to ask, _again_."

* * *

I don't even know how I managed to finish this after watching that trailer tbh, but here it is - leave reviews!


	15. Chapter 15

"From behind, Parker!" Steve yelled, "we can't let him get away this time, guys!"

Tony kept a close watch on Peter, frowning and stepping backwards to join Steve at the front. "Careful, kid, you see anything you don't like, you step back!" He warned as he stuck side by side with Steve, ready to attack.

Except it didn't go right. Thanos turned, and he wasn't supposed to do that, not according to their plan.

Peter didn't see it coming, he was ready to stick to the back when there was a sudden change. He didn't expect this huge creature to swivel so fast, and he definitely didn't expect it to catch him like a fly.

Tony's eyes widened and he charged to the back. He couldn't see what was happening, and the abruptly cut off "shi-" was nothing good. Steve was close behind, and they could both hear panicked curses and yells in the intercoms from the other team members behind Peter.

Peter was slammed down, the huge purple hand covering his body, lifting him up again as he cried out in pain. Something broke, actually a lot of things broke, including his bones and ribs. He wasn't walking away from this one.

"You think you can beat me? You are small!" The horribly monstrous voice bellowed.

The second time he hit the ground, Tony's heart nearly stopped, and he could see the cracks in the ground disperse from under him. Peter's mask was half-off, and the colossal purple hand disappeared as quickly as it came.

Peter groaned and gasped for air, ripping off the mask and squeezing his eyes shut to block the pain that had overtaken him.

"Peter!" Tony yelled, falling to his knees besides him and examining him over. The dread crept in as soon he saw the red hotspots flashing up on the screen in front of him. "Fri-Friday, what do I do?"

" _The injuries are much too severe and, I am afraid, fatal. There is nothing you can do._ " Friday replied, and Tony could hear the sadness in that robotic voice, or maybe he was imagining it. Yeah, he thought, why would Friday be sad? _He_ was sad because he's human, Friday isn't.

"No. No, no, no, I-" he stopped and placed his left hand under Peter's head, which was wet and bloody.

"Tony, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Peter managed to say, holding back tears, and Tony was out of the suit and beside the boy in seconds.

"No, no, it's not your fault, you're-just wait, okay? I'll-I'll call someone-" he looked up and around for help and then sighed a broken sigh, closing his eyes at the thought of knowing what was coming.

"You have-you have to go," Peter said hoarsely, his head fallen to one side as he stared at Thanos in the distance.

Tony pursed his lips, his heart racing against his chest, "I'd never leave you." He said firmly, glancing at Thanos.

Peter gave him a tired, half-smile, "you can't do anything here," he said, a hot tear escaping his eye. He fidgeted uncomfortably and wheezed. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and the least he could do was not start crying, because he was sure that, looking at the state of him, Tony would too. "You need to go."

"No, we can…" his nose scrunched and he felt the tears fall, he hadn't felt this pain in his chest for years, since Pepper fell off that building. But she came back, and Peter wouldn't. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Peter, so, so sorry. This wasn't supposed to..."

He lifted up Peter's head and pressed it against his chest, closing his eyes and resting his chin on Peter's hair. "It'll be okay." He whispered, softly rocking him, "you'll be okay. Think about-about that time you tried breaking into my workshop." He let out a defeated laugh in the hopeless situation.

Peter smiled, although Tony couldn't see that. He didn't _try_ , he wanted to say, he _did_ break in. It was a different story that he got caught, but he got in. His vision started to blur, and he closed his tired eyes. The pain was subsiding, and he knew that while it didn't mean anything good, he was finally calm. He moved back and forth in Tony's arms and felt his breaths drag longer and longer.

May. He thought of May. _She'd be okay_ , he convinced himself, _Tony would help her_. He'd left her a message just in case, but the thought of her listening to it all alone while sitting in their apartment killed him. She'd hate him, then she'd cry, oh she'd cry _so_ much, and this time he couldn't be there to tell her he messed up and wouldn't do it again. He was dragged back to his last moments of reality when someone started talking.

"Tony." A voice said, and Tony looked up to see Steve standing in front of him with his shield lowered in front of him. "I'm sorry, Tony."

Peter unconsciously tightened his grip on Tony's shirt, because _Steve said he was sorry_. It hit him then that he would actually die here. Die surrounded by people who hardly knew him, people who had fought against him last time.

Tony lowered his gaze back to the ground, listening to Peter's breath hitch and his chest rise slower and slower. Peter would die in his arms, right here, all because Tony decided to enter his life without thinking about the consequences. This young boy wasn't supposed to die today.

"Peter." Tony mumbled against Peter's hair, squinting at the floor as his grip got tighter.

Peter hummed and Tony ruffled the boy's hair, "you're a great kid. You're a-" his voice broke and he shook his head, "you're so brave, the bravest, I love you, kid."

Peter let out a louder breath of air to acknowledge what his mentor had just said, and then he felt all that energy drain, and his hand involuntarily loosen the hold.

Tony felt the last breath, followed by Peter's hand falling to the side. He didn't move after that, he _couldn't_ move. _Peter wasn't supposed to die_. He was sixteen. He should be looking at what college he wanted to go to next year, not dead in Tony's arms. Any college would have taken him, he is- _was_ so smart. Yeah, he was smart. The smartest.

Tony finally lifted up his head to see Steve, Rhodey, Natasha and Bucky, all looking down with a pained expression on their faces as if they'd also start crying.

"Tony, I know-" Rhodey paused to gather himself, "we have to-"

Something violently pushed Steve a few meters across the ground, and the other three instantly reacted, coordinating each other and attacking the threat.

"Get in your suit, Tony!" Steve ordered, and Tony blinked in confusion, his own breath and pulsing blood being the only sound he could hear.

He gently laid Peter down and stared at his dust and blood-covered hand. Peter's blood. He covered it with his right hand and for a second there, he felt like this racing heart of his was finally going to kill him, that it wouldn't just be an 'anxiety' attack this time.

"Tony!" Steve yelled again, glancing at him as he dodged a hit, "cover him!" He told the others as they formed an arc around him.

" _Kick back in four!"_ A voice commanded through the intercom. Steve looked up and frowned, nodding as they all got ready to attack.

Sure enough, in just four seconds, the attackers were pushed back into a reflecting panel of...something else.

"They're gone, but there are hundreds more and I can't send all of-" Strange stopped at the sight of Tony and Peter, speed-walking to their side and bending down next to the lifeless boy.

He placed a hand on his chest and then exhaled sadly, "he was young." He hadn't seen Spider-Man without the mask yet, and it certainly surprised him.

"He's sixteen." Tony said monotonously, his eyes still on Peter, because that was exactly what Peter would say. He closed his eyes and let out a cry, "he _was_. He was sixteen." That was what Peter always said. That was his answer to anything and everything regarding his young age, because sixteen meant he 'wasn't a child!'

Strange shook his head and moved his hand to Peter's forehead. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Yeah, great, well that's not gonna bring him back, is it?" Tony asked coldly and sarcastically, sniffling with a deadly look in his eyes.

Stephen hesitated, standing up and stepping back from the scene. "Why did you bring him?" He asked, and even though there was no arrogance or judgement in his tone, he could see how it would seem that way to Tony.

"He asked." Tony replied simply, his voice still shaking. The rest of the Avengers were in the back, quietly standing. Steve held his shield in respect for their fallen team member.

"I said it was…it was dangerous and he just-he never listens and…." He closed his eyes and blinked the tears away, holding the bridge of his nose.

"Tony, we have to go." Steve finally spoke up, but only because no one else would.

Tony shook his head, taking Peter's hand, "I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't do anything for him." Natasha agreed, crouching down next to him. "He wouldn't want you to get yourself killed, that's not what he died for."

"You don't know what he died for!" Tony snapped, and he was ready to start calling every single one of them out if he hadn't felt so upset, so distant from reality.

There were murmurs from the other members in the intercom, with questions like "who died?" being asked over and over by Sam, Wanda and Clint, or those were the ones Tony could make out before he threw out his intercom.

Stephen stepped up, "you won't remember this, b-"

"Look, Strange, you're a cool guy and all but I don't think you understand what's-"

"-but don't let it happen again, Stark." He finished, his hand on the eye of Agamotto.

Wong moved in instantly, "You can bring him back, but someone else could die! You always talk about it being their time, this is his." He warned, placing his hand on Stephen's.

"He's a child, fighting in a war we should've stopped before it even got to this point!" Stephen argued, "He's a child, it's not his time."

Tony's face crinkled up in confusion, "is this a joke to you? You think I wanted him to die?" He shouted louder than he'd ever done before.

Clint squinted, lowering his bow as he came running to his mortified-looking group of friends who were all standing still. "What the-" he stumbled back when he saw Peter and the blood on the floor next to him. "I-" he felt like throwing up.

Stephen lifted his hand into the air and with that, time froze, and he focused on Peter, twisting his hand anti-clockwise slowly.

Wong pushed through and looked around, "I will go back to where you are supposed to be." He said, "and I understand."

"I didn't need you to." Stephen replied, his eyes fixed steadily on Peter. Wong gently patted his shoulder before disappearing behind him.

Peter was on the floor, then he was in Iron Man's arms as Tony watched him die, then being smashed onto the ground, and finally behind Thanos.

Stephen stopped, zooming towards him and pulling him down from what he was about to stick on to. He landed back on the ground with Peter and threw up his hand to create a boundary between them and Thanos.

Everyone jerked back to reality, starting with Peter falling onto the floor pretty hard. He swore and got back on his feet.

"What the hell!" He screamed, his hand on his neck. Tony and Steve squinted in confusion and watched as Thanos grabbed at the air, his wrinkled hand smashing into a glass-like pane and making him jump backwards.

"I'm guessing that was you." Peter remarked, lifting up his hand in the air for a high-five but his eyes on Thanos.

Stephen stared at the hand and shook his head, about to abandon him.

Peter scoffed, "dude!"

Stephen turned and sighed, high-giving him and frowning.

"Imagine if I'd been there." Peter mumbled without a second though, the eyes on his suit widening.

"Yes, imagine that. You know, you're too young to be here."

"Everyone says that, but I'm awesome at dodging." Peter replied uninterestedly, looking behind Stephen when he heard Tony call his name. "Gotta go, magic guy."

"Take care where you stick." Stephen waved as the teen sprinted past him with a "yeah".

Tony watched as Peter rushed to him and looked him over. "You okay?"

"I am, I'm fine, he got me." Peter said, motioning to Doctor Strange.

Tony grimaced, "I don't know, I have a weird feeling."

Peter's eyes narrowed, "what do you mean?" He adjusted his mask and looked behind Tony at a confused Steve.

"Something's off, I want you on the sidelines." Tony ordered, his tone firm and indicating that he didn't want an argument.

Peter ignored that and grabbed his metal arms as he turned to walk away, "what? Because you had a 'feeling'?" He mocked, because it sounded ridiculous.

Tony took hold of the hand on his arm and opened the suit to reveal his face, "yes, because I had a feeling. You listen to what I say because you agreed you would? Is there a problem?" Tony asked with a menacing glare.

Peter exhaled, avoiding Tony's eyes, "fine." He scowled, shaking his head and walking off like the angry teenager he was.

Stephen walked into him and held his arm firmly. "He's trying to stop you from getting killed. Let him."

Peter pulled away and ran his hand over his mask, "yeah, yeah I guess I know, I just-I know." He stammered, continuing to shake his head and walking off in a strut.

He stepped up into the Milano and took a seat on one of the empty chairs. He was there for less than a minute when he started talking again.

"Tony."

" _What? You better not be in the field right-_ "

"I'm not!" He said defensively, _unbelievable,_ "I was just saying sorry." He said in an annoyed tone.

"You are so cute! _"_ He heard Mantis say excitedly with a giggle, and jumped when he saw her step up into the ship as well.

" _We're good, as long as you're not here."_

 _"_ I'm not, I'm in the spaceship with Mantis."

 _"It's called the Milano, Spider-Boy."_ Peter Quill said instantly with a grunt in the middle of his fight.

Peter nearly laughed, "right." He said, kicking a can on the floor and watching from the windows.

" _Who_?" Tony asked a few seconds later.

" _Okay, you know, the resources we're giving you to help, the least you can do is remember our names_." Quill said in irritation.

He heard Tony scoff, " _well, if the rainbow sisters didn't piss of their dad in the first place, we wouldn't need your resources at all._ "

That was enough for a whole other argument to start, and Peter sighed, listening to them bicker about whose fault it was, and of course Steve tell them to stop.

"Do you want to see what I can do?" Mantis asked as she took a seat with a smile.

Peter looked at her warily and then shrugged, "sure."

* * *

This would be a pretty good idea of what I think is going to happen. This was for TheChosenOne260!

And yes, that trailer was not what I wanted to see!

Lastly, thanks to everyone leaving reviews - I love them! Leave any prompts if you think of any :)


	16. Chapter 16: Reality

"I see _that_ , what I don't see is why _I_ have to come with you." Peter pouted, following as quickly as he could, because even though he had super-speed, keeping up with Tony was a sport.

Tony waved at a few people on the way and grabbed Pepper as she stepped out of the room he was about to walk into.

"Please, honey, come on!"

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Tony, this is ridi-"

"It'll be the best week of your life." Tony urged, "come on, sweetie."

Peter watched with a bored expression on his face, turning around and bumping into a tall man.

"You look way too young to be here!" The man laughed, patting Peter's shoulders firmly.

Peter fidgeted uncomfortably, "yeah, I'm-I'm an intern." He replied, and the man nodded.

"This is your future, huh." He said in a way that didn't need an answer.

Peter pursed his lips and smiled slightly, "yeah, I-I need to get going." He said as politely as he could, turning to leave.

He felt a hand on his arm and turned to face the same eerie old guy. "Stark, you mind?"

Tony waved his hand from the corner of the room in dismissal, all his attention focused on talking to Pepper. _Well_ , trying to get her to agree to go with him on his trip.

Peter sighed and forced another smile, "so?"

"You live with your parents, right?" The man asked curiously.

That's not a question you ask to random teenagers you meet, is it? Peter shook his head, "no, my aunt." He replied.

"Yeah? What about your parents?"

"They're dead-they died." He said. Saying it out loud didn't bother him as much as people thought it did. It happened long ago, and he'd been with May since he could remember.

"What a shame," he shook his head, "that must be difficult. Is it just your aunt?"

"You know, I'm just here with Mr Stark, we're-"

"Come on, it's just small chat." He convinced Peter, eyes widened in anticipation. "So you and your aunt then, huh."

"Yeah." Peter managed to say quietly, because he didn't like talking about this one bit, not to some random old man he'd just bumped into in the corridor of a random building.

"So, it's always been you and her? You know Ross Consolidated down the road? Ross grew up with his uncle, had no one else."

"Yeah, I read about that in school, I think." Peter sighed, "my uncle died a year ago."

"Oh, that must sting." The man said, and Peter stared ahead into his eyes, feeling tears well up in his own. "You got him killed, that why don't talk about him?"

He felt like he couldn't breathe. He hadn't thought about that for months, and it was what had stopped him from having those nightmares. As much as he loved Ben, thinking about what happened brought back bad memories.

"Wh-what?" Peter nearly stumbled, "why would you-"

"You got him killed, like you got those people in that fire killed, just like you're gonna get your Aunt killed." The man spat, and Peter didn't even notice that his nails were digging into Peter's arms.

"That's not-"

"Bullshit!" He screamed, and Peter let out a choked, terrified cry as he was slammed back against the wall, the man's hands now roughly grabbing the collar of his shirt.

He couldn't move. He was a hundred times stronger than his attacker, and yet he couldn't move.

"If they didn't live, why should you?" The man continued, slamming Peter backwards again and scratching at him.

"Hey!" Tony yelled as soon as he heard, running over to Peter and pulling him out from under the deranged man. "Someone get this psycho out of here!" He yelled.

"You're a murderer! You kill your uncle, then you kill everyone else!" The man yelled one last time before he walked off down the corridor.

"Peter!" A voice interrupted, and Peter gasped, moving back into the wall and looking around.

The man was calm, definitely not attacking Peter, and Tony was staring at him in confusion. "You black out or something?"

He felt the collar of his shirt and frowned, had he just dreamt that whole thing? He could feel his heart thudding loudly against his chest and shook his head, "no, I'm fine."

He held the back of his neck with his hand and tried blinking away the tears - it didn't work.

"Kid, what's wrong?" Tony asked immediately, holding his arms gently and looking him over.

"I just-I think-look that man was here and he-he was pushing me back and-he-"

"He wasn't doing anything, he was just standing there, _helping_ you actually." Tony cut in, "what's up with you."

"It's alright, he looks stressed. You two take care." The man said, smiling and walking off into the same corridor he'd done in his daydream earlier.

"Yeah, thanks, sorry about that." Tony said, focusing his attention on Peter again, "well?"

Peter felt the tears and gripped his hair with his right hand, "I don't know." He said quietly. "I'm not insane!"

"I didn't say you were-" Peter turned his head in dismissal, "-hey, it's okay, don't worry about it, it's fine. It just takes time, now let's go."

Peter sighed in frustration and leaned off of the wall. Tony put an arm around him as the started to walk.

"I'll see you? Definitely?"

There was a sigh from behind them, "yeah, you will." Pepper said, watching them walk off together.

Tony gave her an unclear thumbs up, putting his hand in his pocket and taking out his phone.

Peter squirmed out from under his arm, "I'm gonna go home." He said as they got to the door. Tony lowered his phone and looked at him.

"I promised May a few hours of fun. This isn't a few hours of fun. It's actually been thirty minutes of you just being sad. Do you wanna be sad?" His eyes narrowed like he'd just asked a completely serious question.

Peter frowned, "no, that's not what-"

"Great. Let's head back then, and we'll…do something." He said vaguely, unlocking his car and nudging Peter when he didn't move.

Peter glared, his eyes on the groups of people moving in front of him. This wasn't "going back".

"It was last minute." Tony said quietly in Peter's ear, straightening his tie and nodding at a few familiar faces.

Peter shook his head, "that's what you-what are you doing, Mr Stark?"

Tony's eyes widened, "what am I-I told you it was last minute, I have to say hi, can't just ignore a party in my own home."

Peter scoffed, "if you were busy we could've done this another time. I don't-I don't wanna be here." He said, nothing but frustration and sadness in his tone.

"I'm not busy!" Tony said defensively, "I wanted you to get out, is that so bad?" He asked, concerned and worried.

Peter sighed, pursing his lips and looking around, "no, no, I guess…" he was still angry. The first time he gets out in two months and Tony takes him to a place filled with people, a place that was nowhere near the "nice, quiet day" he promised.

"Great." He looked up and pointed in front of him, "and Vision's here, you two'll have fun." He reassured Peter, who turned around and watched Vision smile.

"Where are _you_ going?"

"I have to talk to someone." He said, patting Peter's back and taking off.

"I'm the Vision." Vision greeted, extending a hand.

Peter shook it, "I'm Peter. And you're Vision."

"Yes, that's what I said."

"No, you said you're _the_ Vision, you're a-" he stopped, trying to phrase his sentence properly, "well you're not-that's just not how you introduce yourself. You don't call yourself _the_ , that's weird." Peter explained, watching the confused robot-human in front of him.

Vision nodded, "interesting."

"Yeah, not met much people, huh?"

"I guess not. They must've not noticed."

Peter laughed lightly, "you're a cool guy, but they probably noticed."

"Alright."

"Okay, let's go."

"Where?"

"Out of here. I don't wanna be here, neither do you, so let's go."

Vision hesitated, and Peter noticed. Was he supposed to hesitate, did he even know how? Why did he? "We should tell Tony."

"No, we shouldn't, he'll make me stay. You're an adult…kind of, he can't yell at you."

"I doubt he would yell at you."

"Yeah, well, he wouldn't not yell at me eith-" he stopped abruptly when he saw a familiar face in the background. The same man from just an hour ago. It couldn't have been a coincidence. "Who is that?" He asked Vision, who turned around. "The guy in the grey suit."

"I'm not sure. I've never seen him before, why?" Vision asked back, his head tilted and eyes narrowed.

Peter's brows furrowed, "I saw him earlier, at that building Tony was buying."

"Maybe he's a friend."

Peter shook his head no, "no, he isn't," he clenched his fists, "or I'm being paranoid."

"Perhaps." Vision agreed, and Peter cracked a smile, because everyone else would say 'no, no, that's not it!' Like Ned. Ned was amazing - the best, but he had the tendency to agree with whatever Peter was doing and saying, and sometimes that just wasn't what he needed.

"Peter!" The man called as both Vision and Peter continued to stare, and as soon as he noticed, Peter pushed Vision to move along, except Vision didn't budge.

"Fancy seeing you here."

"Well, I was with Mr Stark like an hour ago so…" he said, sounding ruder than he intended.

"So snarky. It'll get you killed one day."

Peter stared in confusion, was it a joke? "Right, listen, Vision and I-"

"Do you even think about them?"

Peter's breath was stuck in his throat, "who are you?"

"You killed my daughter."

Peter's eyes widened in surprise, "what-I've-I've _never_ killed anyone."

"That fire. You had the chance to save her."

Peter stared as his heart thumped against his chest, "I tried to get to everyone out."

"Well, that's a little lie, isn't it?"

All of a sudden, Peter's shoulder was being weighed down by the man's heavy hand as he moved closer. "But you already knew that."

Peter heard the first half of the sentence before the ringing came, which soon turned into a monotone beep that got louder and louder in his ears. He stumbled back against the wall and covered them as tightly as he could, not that it made a difference.

"What are you doing?" Vision asked innocently, and he was met with more lies.

"Your buddy's in pain."

"You did something."

"I'm helping, so should you."

Why wasn't Vision doing anything? He wheezed from the pain and tried blinking away the tears. People were beginning to stare.

"Are you okay?" He could hear the tall man say in a muffled tone as if he was talking into a pillow, looking concerned now that people were noticing.

"You just lied." Vision said firmly, moving defensively in front of Peter. "What did you do?" He asked calmly yet threateningly.

"Nothing." He laughed nervously, "man", he paused and looked over Vision, "if I can even call you that, I'm just-"

Vision pushed him back against the wall, a hand now placed on the top of his head.

The man yelled, "hey, what are you-"

"What the hell's going on?" Tony interrupted quietly but firmly, pulling Vision back, "Vision, How many times do I have to tell you gat you're too strong for barfights? You'll just kill-" he stopped when he saw Peter and frowned, walking over to him.

Peter squeezed his eyes shut. It felt like his ears were going to burst, because that horrendous noise was getting louder and louder. _You're gonna die_.

Another voice made Tony jump and roll his eyes, "you're partying, and I have this," Pepper waved a file in the air, "you know what this is? The paper I've been asking you to sign for-" she stopped, looking around the group of misfits.

Tony was muttering something to Peter, who had his eyes shut. Vision was glaring angrily at a random man, and a fair number of people just glaring like hawks.

"Everyone back to, uh, doing whatever you're doing." She smiled to the crowd of people, who still stared eagerly. "I mean it." She said again, the smile staying but her tone changing.

There were murmurs, and slowly they turned around, whispering about what was happening, but at least they weren't staring.

"What's wrong? Why is he even here?" She asked genuinely.

"Parker, gimme something." Tony said, "I just got to him." He said, tilting his head towards Pepper.

He opened his eyes, as if on cue, and choked a cry, "I can't-I-I can't see-I-" his hand clutched the edge of the wall for support, he'd never, ever, felt so helpless before.

"You'll be fine." Tony reassured, even though he had no idea what was even happening.

"He's in pain." Vision informed, also focusing closely on the boy. "Because _he_ did something."

Tony looked up to see a tall, bulky man cornered by Vision. He frowned when it hit him, "I saw you. You were there with him this morning."

"I don't know what you're-"

"What the hell did you do to him?" He turned back to Peter, "Peter-"

"He can't hear you." Vision said in an irritated tone.

"Why not?

"Because he's hearing something else right now."

"Like wha-"

Peter let out a suppressed scream, and Tony covered him, turning around to the crowd and smiling as if nothing was wrong. "Angry teen problems." He said shakily, waiting a few seconds before putting an arm around him and taking him around and half-dragging him around the corner of the wall into a corridor.

"Peter?"

Then he screamed, and Tony only grasped the seriousness of the situation when he saw the streaks of blood on Peter's neck and fingers, which were shaking against his ears.

"Is that blood?" Pepper gasped, her own voice shaking.

Tony groaned, clenching his jaw. He put a hand comfortingly on Peter's shoulder, but was pushed off.

"I-see-I can't see-" Peter choked.

All he could see was white. Like the blinding light when you walk into a bright room, except it never normalising. His ears were still ringing, and his hands covered against him made that strange white noise, and he could hear himself breathing alongside that buzzing, and that was it. Was he dying? It felt like he was dying.

"We'll help you, we're all here." Tony said softly, this time wrapping one hand around his neck, which he didn't pull away from.

"Helen's coming, I just called her." Pepper said, kneeling down next to Tony and running her hand over Peter's hair. Granted, she didn't spend a lot of time with him, but this was Peter. Sweet, energetic Peter, who would never hurt anyone and here he was, struggling to breathe.

"Where's Vision?" Tony asked, pulling Peter closer to him when he started crying.

"He took that man and Maria came and-what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know." He pursed his lips looking down at Peter leaning against his chest with his ears still covered. "I shouldn't have-I shouldn't have asked him to come, Pep."

Pepper looked down, "he had to." She said over his quiet cries, grimacing, "that was a loss for him and he obviously couldn't handle it, you had to do something."

"Yeah, and he's crying to death over here." He said grimly, and Pepper scoffed, "he could've been sulking at home but at least he wouldn't-" he rubbed Peter's shoulder.

"I know you love pretending everything that goes wrong is your fault, but this definitely isn't." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

The _clicking_ of heels caught both their attention and they looked up to see Helen rushing towards them. "I was all the way-" she pointed backwards and frowned at their expressions, "anyway, I got ai…" she trailed off, looking at him closely and pulling out a syringe.

She injected it into him and waited for his body to relax until he was unconscious, until his cries turned into ragged breaths. "I don't know what he's hearing, or if it's real-"

"He's not crazy." Tony said defensively.

"No, I know that, otherwise his ears wouldn't be bleeding." She said, looking back as more doctors followed. "I meant that while we don't know what it is, it would be unnecessary to let him be in so much pain." She explained.

"I think he'll be okay." She said at Pepper and Tony's worried faces.

"You _think_? That's-that's great." Tony said, standing up as Peter was being taken.

Helen sighed, "I can't really-saying he'll be okay when I don't know what-it's-okay, this isn't really my area of expertise, my resident can help you with that." She rambled quickly, following the others.

A young man walked to Tony, "What Ms Cho wanted to say was that she knows you're scared and-"

"Okay, okay, I don't need coddling." Tony cut in, stopping him with a hand in the air and walking off the opposite direction to find Vision.

Pepper smiled, "sorry, he's stressed, obviously." She offered, also walking out to follow Tony.

* * *

"Hydra. How about that." Tony said quietly, running a hand over his hair. "How'd he even get in? Is this what I pay security for? Because even Dum-E could've done a better job and he's not particularly good at a lot of things." He ranted, getting louder and louder.

"He forged a card and he got in, I don't know what to tell you." Happy offered, throwing his hands in the air in defeat.

Tony scoffed, "you don't know-how about who the hell was managing this? Because last I checked it was you."

"And like I said, I wasn't there checking off names on a list the whole night." He sighed, "he would've found a way."

Tony stared at him, "is that supposed to make me feel better? I gave you one job-"

"Tony, what is wrong with you?" Pepper cut in, shaking her head.

"Yeah, dial it down, Happy's far from the problem." Rhodey agreed, "why can't you just-" he made the cliche 'calm' signal with his hands.

Tony looked at them, unimpressed, "okay, well for starters, Happy here-"

"Okay, this isn't on me, I did exactly what you asked me-"

"I didn't _ask_ you to let a murderer in to-"

"I swear, Tony, if you-"

"If I what, Rhodey? This was my party, I deserve an exp-"

"You're over-exaggerating, honey, just-"

"He's dying and _I'm_ over-"

"Everybody shut up!" A voice yelled on top of the bickering group.

They looked up and straightened themselves out. Maria.

"First of all, Happy's not your bouncer, Tony."

Tony rolled his eyes, "well that's obvious, this isn't some nightcl-"

"I'm not finished. I don't think the problem is how Brown got in." She said, "he had run-ins with Hydra, we're assuming that's how he got those", she rubbed her fingers together to motion to the powers, "as far as SHIELD knew, he was on the run. He spent time with Adrian Toomes, was part of his group for a couple of years, we're assuming that's how he knew more about Spider-Man. He had a daughter that no one knew about, she died in the building your superhero failed to save last month."

 _Failed_. Ouch. "He didn't _fail_ , he couldn't get everyone out on time because he's _also_ a kid." Tony said instantly, "and why the hell was she there? Toomes was rich, so were his buddies."

"She was with a friend. There was a party and she died along with a few others, and she also wasn't close to her dad."

"Where is he?"

Maria sighed, "dead."

"Sorry, what? Coz it sounded like you said he was dead when we don't even know what he did, exactly."

She pursed her lips, "there was a struggle."

"And you killed him?"

"Well, he wasn't exactly all human, and I wasn't the one who did it."

Tony exhaled, he was dangerously close to punching something right about now. "Great. That's just-" he rubbed his forehead, "-amazing."

Rhodey frowned, "but they can help the kid without him, right?"

Maria shrugged, "I was just here to tell you what I knew about Brown." She put a file down on the table. "Have you tried waking him up? I think it was only temporary, you know, trying to get revenge and all, and he's dead now." She said.

"Helen's testing it."

"Tell me how it goes. I hope he's okay, Tony." She said, turning to leave the room.

"So we found out nothing."

"We found his motive." Rhodey answered.

"We're not detectives, who cares about motive."

"You're telling me you don't care why he did it? Why some random dude came in and just did that to Peter?"

"I was more interested in the how." Tony argued, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"I'll call his Aunt."

"I already did. Told her he'd be here for the weekend."

Tony held Pepper's hand, "you're amazing."

"Is that so?"

"I don't even know what I'm doing,"

"You're taking care of him." She said, leading him out of the room.

* * *

"He lost hearing in one ear completely, but I managed to save it." Helen said proudly, "that was something, but I'm certain he'll be able to hear perfectly within a week."

"He couldn't see either. What about that?"

"As far as I can tell, if the noise was temporary, the light should've been too, we couldn't find any damage there anyway."

"So he'll be okay."

"I'm optimistic." She said, looking down at her phone when it vibrated, "I have to go, I'll be back after he wakes up."

Tony pushed open the door and looked at Peter for a minute, taking a seat next to him. Uncomfortable chairs.

The door opened again and he turned to see Vision. "I was the one that killed him."

Tony sighed, leaning one arm on the chair and pinching the bridge of his nose, "I figured."

"He was dangerous." He justified

Tony looked up through tired eyes, "I didn't say anything. You say he was a danger, then he was a danger."

Vision nodded calmly, "I'll come back." He said, backing away quietly and leaving.

Peter gasped awake, clutching his chest with one hand and ripping the tubes out of the other as he violently pulled inwards.

"Hey, calm down." Tony said instantly, getting up and holding his arm to stop him clawing at his chest.

He stopped and looked up at Tony. His vision was blurred and opening his eyes wide, so he squinted.

Tony looked down sympathetically. Peter's eyes were bloodshot and red around, like he'd been crying. The squinting made Tony get up and dim the room. _Should've done that earlier_.

"Your ears okay?" Tony asked, and Peter's nose wrinkled in confusion.

"What?"

"Your ear-" he started shouting and shook his head, "nevermind."

"I can hear you." Peter said a little too loud, his fingers scratching at the bandage on his left ear.

"Don't do that." Tony said, about to grab his hand but the bandage was already off. He threw it aside into the bin and put a hand back over his ear.

"This one doesn't hurt."

"The other one ruptured." Tony said quietly, now that Peter could hear better.

Peter looked at him in surprise all of a sudden, "I know who did it! It was-it was that guy we saw in that bu-"

"Okay, detective, calm down, I already know who did it." Tony cut in.

"Where is he? I just…" Peter frowned, clenching his fists and jaw.

"He's dead."

"How?"

"He tried fighting Vision."

Peter nodded, "do you know why he did that? The man?"

Tony contemplated telling him and decided against it, "He was a psycho, okay? Forget about him." He shrugged.

Peter looked down and exhaled, "he said I got his daughter killed."

Tony put a hand on Peter's, "well, you didn't. That…that night wasn't on you. You know that."

"Yeah, you already told me that a hundred times." Peter dismissed.

"But you never listened." Tony said a little louder, guiltily toning it down when Peter flinched a little. "You're a fifteen year old, and that was a ten-storey building. Expecting to get everyone out was a-a fantasy."

He waited for Peter to respond and gripped his shoulder when he didn't, "what's this really about?"

Peter looked up with tears in his eyes, "I don't know. I don't-I guess because there were a few people from school there and…" _they died,_ he threw his hand up in the air and shrugged.

"You got more than fifty out. That counts for something- _a lot_ , actually." Tony offered, and Peter sighed.

"Yeah."

"Could've tried to sound at least half-convinced." Tony said jokingly.

Peter sighed, "I know it was all I could've done, but that…I still feel…" he frowned at his fumbling fingers.

"Stop thinking of different outcomes." Tony shook his head, "replaying it in your head-" he twirled his finger in the air in a circular motion, "it happened. It happened how it happened, thinking about what would happen if you'd went in from the south instead of the north, or helped the family or the crying lady," he clapped his hands together quietly, "it's not going to change."

Peter stared as if Tony was speaking a different language.

"You're losing sleep over things you can't change-they're dead. That's just reality and one you need to accept." Tony continued, raising his eyebrows at Peter and trying to decide whether he needed to keep going and whether he came off as too harsh.

Peter nodded, "it's not gonna change anything." He paraphrased.

"No, it's not." Tony reaffirmed, "you okay now?"

"Thanks. I-I needed to hear it, and thanks for-" he looked around the room, "for this."

"Well, looking out for the little guy, _someone_ has to look out for you."

Peter smiled, "you don't _have_ to."

"Are you kidding me? Look at you, of course I do."

Peter let out a small laugh, "right."

* * *

You guys are so awesome and sweet, thank you so much for those reviews!

This one turned out to be longer than expected so enjoy, I don't even know if that Hydra stuff makes sense (might've skipped some parts of Winter Soldier :/ ), but I liked this idea.


	17. Chapter 17: Stalker (Part 1)

_Peter ducked, taking cover behind one of the trash bins and cursing under his breath as he swapped his web shooters._

 _"You're still fifteen, language!" Tony scolded._

 _"He broke my last ones! If I break these-"_

 _"Then you go home." Tony said as matter-of-fact, shooting up into the air and looking down at Peter, who looked up in surprised and frowned under his mask._

 _He shook his head, "this time he won't."_

 _"You're clear, go east." Tony said, pointing his head towards the direction and flying himself next to Vision._

 _Tony watched him run, landing down next to Vision, "need any help?" He quipped._

 _"No." Vision answered, dodging the poorly aimed bullets and walking forwards with confidence._

 _"You're supposed to say-" Tony stopped, "everyone stop! There's a nursery on the ground floor!" He yelled, tracking the fast-moving figure. "Spidey, go in."_

 _Peter squinted, "me?"_

 _"Smile, tell everyone to evacuate, and then go up the stairs. They'll appreciate a friendly face. Besides, he's stalling, probably going up to the roof."_

 _Peter frowned, "yeah, but we can do that from here! I can come and go-"_

 _"Peter."_

 _He sighed in frustration, "fine. Fine."_

 _Tony shot up, landing on the roof alongside Vision._

 _"Did you not want him up here?"_

 _Tony cocked his head, "did I say that?"_

 _"Not directly."_

 _"You're new at this. Reading too much into he situation."_

 _Vision nodded with a confused expression on his face. "His plan's been poorly executed" He stated as they both stared at the door._

"And then what?"

Tony scratched the back of his head, frowning at his friend. "I thought you weren't 'trained' to be a therapist."

Bruce scoffed, "come on, Tony."

 _"Shit!" Peter cursed, clutching his stomach and watching the titanium-covered figure make his way towards him. He quickly flipped to his feet, throwing a web at the gun and throwing it aside._

 _"Friday, repulsers!"_

 _"They've sustained damage. Capacity is currently at 56%"_

 _"That'll do." He lifted up both hands, shooting at the figure._

 _"Tony!" Vision said worriedly as soon as the first blast went out, but still a little too late._

 _The man took the first hit, sure, but he didn't take the second. No, he rolled aside, leaving Peter standing there in surprise for a millisecond when he realised he was going to take the fall._

 _The pain hit up Peter in the centre, right in his chest, before spreading quickly. He violently jerked backwards, his breath caught in his throat as he fell off of the ledge, hands flailing in the air in front of him as his vision blurred._

 _"No!" He leaped in right after him, diving off the ledge as fast as he could._

 _He scooped Peter up mid-air, landing swiftly on the ground and laying him down gently. "Peter?"_

 _Peter gasped, his left hand laying by his side in a fist. The middle of his suit was burnt out, and Tony was holding his right hand to stop him touching the burns. "Hey, it'll be okay."_

 _"I can't-I can't-" he coughed violently, turning left and watching blood end up on the ground._

 _"No, no, no! Come on, don't-"_

"I mean, it was clearly a mistake." Bruce said when Tony stopped talking and clutched his forehead.

He huffed, "I nearly killed him. Me. Not-not the evil villain guy, it was-"

"You. Yeah I get it but it was a mistake."

Tony's eyes widened, "I sent him tumbling off a building. His-he-he wasn't breathing by the time I got him here and..."

May had been so furious. Which is why he didn't understand why she hadn't started yelling in the waiting room right there and then. Tony had begrudgingly told her what happened but she didn't react how he thought she would.

Bruce snapped his fingers, "Tony."

Tony frowned, "I have to go." He stood up.

"Go where?"

"I told May I'd swing by."

"We're not done here."

"Really? _I_ think we are."

"Tony-"

"You were right. You're not a therapist. This isn't your thing." Tony said. Bruce opened his mouth to argue and was left throwing his hands in the air when his friend left the room.

* * *

"-a few hours. But then Janet's son drops by after school sometimes." May said, raising her eyebrows as she looked over to Peter while putting on her coat.

"Sounds good." He said quietly, not noticing her stares.

She sighed, "he's so sweet. You're age, actually. You two would get along great, I think he's coming today-"

"May."

"Okay, okay. I just thought-never mind." She said, putting up both hands defensively. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"I told you, I'm fine!" Peter whined from across his room, watching her purse her lips sadly.

"Okay. I'm off." She smiled, grabbing her bag and opening the door.

Peter watched from his bed and waited till she was out before throwing a web to his door and slamming it shut.

He fell back onto his bed, sighing and staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before someone knocked on the front door. He squinted, looking right at the bed to decide if it was worth getting up. Nah.

" _Mr Parker, wanna let me in?"_ A familiar voice said through the walls. He quickly sat up on his bed, sighing in frustration and resting his forehead in his palm. " _Sometime soon, preferably."_

He got up and walked begrudgingly to the door, shaking his head before unlocking it.

Tony looked Peter up and down, "took you long enough. Is it-" he pointed to Peter's chest, and Peter looked down at it too. "That? Does it still hurt? It shouldn't…still hurt." Tony mumbled, walking into the apartment with Peter shutting the door.

"No, no, it's not-it doesn't-not a lot." He stammered.

Tony snapped his head towards Peter, " _not a lot?_ So it does still hurt?"

"I mean, a little, I guess."

"It's not rocket science, does it or doesn't it?"

"It does." Peter said, watching Tony eagerly explore his home.

Peter rubbed his eye, "Mr Stark, no offence, but why are you here?"

"To check in." Tony replied, 'isn't it obvious?' hanging in there unsaid.

Peter nodded, "right. Right. Cool. I'm great."

Tony scoffed, "is that right? I think we should, you know, sit down and talk about what happened-what's happening right _now_ , even-" he looked Peter up and down suspiciously.

Peter frowned, "nothing's happening!" He said a little too defensively, "and I can't talk anyway, I have…things to do."

"What _things_?"

"I-I have a chemistry test tomorrow." Peter said in his usual high-pitched voice that came out when he felt under-attack.

Tony frowned, "you know what's so cool nowadays? You get your homework online."

Peter shrugged, "yeah, that's-" he stopped, "wait-"

"What's even cooler, is that you _don't_ have a chemistry test. Do you, Spider-Boy?"

Peter scoffed, "there's like a million classes. You didn't check all of them." He said dumbly. _Yes_ , he totally could've checked them all, or gotten Vision or Friday or _hundreds_ of other smart people wondering around the facility to do it.

"I didn't. Ned did." Tony said, surprising Peter.

"You talked to Ned?"

"What's so terrible about _talking_?" Tony said, ignoring his question and sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Nothing. You can talk to Ned if you want." Peter tried, earning a glare from Tony.

"Don't be a smartass."

Peter sighed, "talk about what? I'm fine. Why can't you all just believe to me?"

"You're ignoring Happy's calls. If you picked up, you would've saved me a trip." Tony lied.

"I've just been busy."

Tony looked over to his side table and grabbed the notebook, flipping through a few pages. "Uh huh, with the non-existent Chemistry tests?"

"That's mine." Peter said, reaching and failing to grab it back. "Mr Stark-"

Tony frowned, paying more attention to the scrappy book in his hands. "You're still on this." He stated, scanning the pages a little before it was snatched out of his hand.

"I'm on it because I'm not being paranoid." Peter said loudly, tucking it away in his drawer.

"There's been no sightings or-"

"Is this what you came to say? That the thing that nearly got me killed isn't out to get me?"

Tony inhaled, "I was the one that pushed you, Peter. _He's_ gone."

"There were three of us there and he got away, even from Vision. You don't think he's strong enough to come back?"

"Look." He sighed heavily, "starting from the beginning, first of all, I came to apologise-"

"I forgive you. Second?"

Tony smiled for a second, "second, eighty-five percent of enhanced individuals don't reappear after something like this."

Peter just stared like he didn't believe him, "you just made that up."

"I didn't. Friday can tell you. Look, they're looking for attention, they got it, they'll go hide for another year or so." Tony continued, patting Peter's shoulder, "And I've put an alert on it. The second he _does_ come back, _if_ he does, you'll be the first to know."

"Right. Well, it's only been three days since I came back, he can be out there."

"Kid, what happened out there-it shouldn't have happened. I wasn't paying attention, or I didn't look at the fight patterns properly, I was-"

"Mr Stark, it's fine."

"It's not fine." Tony stated, "May says you're not sleeping and you skipped a few classes. You fell off a building, I mean I didn't sleep for-"

"That's because you plummeted out of some alien wormhole, I-I fell off one building and not even halfway."

"But it still scares you." Tony interrupted, watching him tense up and stare intensely at the carpet.

"Maybe. A little."

"Peter, you-" Tony scoffed, "You _died_ , technically. I was there." He continued in the most serious and worried voice he'd ever used with Peter, which Peter didn't think was possible after the ferry mishap.

Peter threw his hands in the air gently, "But it happens. I'm-I'm not delusional. I know that what I do, it can-that one day I might not...come home." He let out a shaky laugh, "I mean there's all these crazy powerful people with-with all this crazy tech and-" he stared hard at the carpet, trying to get his wording right, "you know, and sometimes I get hurt. More than I expect to. I know what I do is dangerous."

Tony nodded, "And I didn't say you didn't-we're getting sidetracked."

"Then why _are_ you here?"

"To check up on you, I already said that."

"Yeah, but I'm fine."

"Your aunt doesn't think so."

Peter looked taken aback, she called him? "Yeah, well, _she_ never thinks so, I'm fine!" He whined.

Tony seemed unconvinced, but nodded, "okay, I'll try another time. Just-just call me before you do something reckless this time."

"I didn't do anything reckless."

"I'd say not going to classes is reckless."

"I wouldn't."

"Peter."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Fine." Peter said instantly, smiling and watching Tony get up and make his way out of his room.

"I mean it, call!" He heard Tony say before the door slammed a few seconds later and he finally relaxed.

He reached for his notebook again and flipped through the messy pages. A few minutes went by when someone knocked on the door again.

He groaned, setting the book down and opening the door. No one. He frowned, stepping out a little and looking down the empty corridor.

"Wow." He whispered, clenching his jaw and stepping back in to his apartment. He slammed the door shut and shook his head, staggering when a sudden pain hit him in his chest. He grabbed onto the shoe cupboard and took a few heavy breaths.

The ringing of the house phone right next to him made him jump and stagger. He cursed under his breath and picked up the phone with shaking hands.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

"Hello?" He tried again, louder and certainly sounding more frustrated.

He put it down and shook his head, leaning back against the wall and trying to control his breathing.

He should've talked.

A few minutes passed before he got ready to move, pushing himself off the wall and about to go back into his room.

He didn't know what happened next. One second he was standing, and the next he was screaming, gasping on the floor with a smashed door in pieces in front of him.

He looked up and crawled forwards, looking down the corridor. People had started coming out and were looking intently, and one of those, of course, was Tony.

Tony, who had clearly just ran back up those stairs. He was still running, only stopping when he saw Peter's face look down at him amidst the smoke.

* * *

Peter had his face buried in his arms on the table.

May was staring blankly at him, her chin resting on her fist.

And Tony. Tony was sitting opposite May, tapping his fingers on the back of his phone and occasionally glancing at them and the door. They'd been sitting in the same position for ten awkward minutes.

He sighed, moving forwards and putting an elbow on the table. "Peter, you're sure-"

Peter's head snapped up, "yes! There was no one there. I told you, I thought it was you but no one was there." He interrupted, earning another another sigh from Tony. He turned his head to May and reached out to her hand, "May, can you not stare at me like that?"

"You could've-" that's all it took for her to start tearing up again. Her hand was now wrapped around her forehead.

"May, come on." Peter said, squeezing her hand.

She just shook her head, "you couldn't have come with me?"

"Nothing happened."

"Actually, someone blew up your front door." Tony added, pointing vaguely at the door.

"I-"

"He's right, Peter, I can't-I mean aren't you scared even-" she couldn't form her words, so she just sighed angrily.

Tony raised his eyebrows, "I've got two rooms set up. Ready?"

"Yea-"

"No."

May looked at him in incredulously, "I'm not doing this with you right now."

"You go. I'll stay here and get a new door, you know, in case they show up. Be on lookout." Peter stated.

"Oh yeah, another door. That'll definitely keep'em out." Tony said sarcastically, "kid, just listen to your very smart aunt." He said, earning a look from her.

Peter sighed, "okay, fine." He would've tried harder, but unlike what Tony thought, he didn't _actually_ have a death wish.

"Okay, let's-"

Peter jerked back at the sudden sound of things smashing around him. Tony was yelling at them to get down.

Glass continued to shatter, and he could see photo frames, paper and other things fall onto the floor in front of him while his heart raced like crazy.

They all ended up in the hallway. Tony continued staring into the trashed apartment, bullet holes everywhere and things smashed on the floor. He squinted at the dark red stains near the door and looked to Peter, who was still catching his breath.

He looked down at himself and then at May, who was gasping, her hands trembling and both placed on top of her stomach.

"May." He moved forwards, gently lowering her before she fell.

Peter looked up instantly, whispering "no" about a hundred times and grabbing her hands.

* * *

"Come on, kiddo, I've been waiting for an hour."

Peter kept his face buried in his arms, "I didn't ask you to."

"She's fine."

"Then why can't you let me stay with her?"

"The doctors told me. I told you. Come on now." He nodded his head towards the door and waited.

"No."

"I know this isn't an ideal situation but-"

Peter lifted his head to reveal red-rimmed eyes, "what if she dies?"

Tony frowned, walking over to him and taking a seat. "She won't. Where's this coming from? You were there, it was a-a graze. Anything else on your mind?"

Peter glared at him, "yeah, about a thousand things. Like why that guy would do that, if we would've made it out if I said yes instead of no and stalling for ten seconds, ten seconds can make a big difference. And-and you never even knew that-"

"Calm down."

He held his forehead, trying to stop himself from breaking down. This wasn't the time, or the place.

Tony leaned in, placing a hand on his arm, "This shouldn't be happening."

"If that guy knows who I am then…what's-I haven't even signed the Accords."

"And you won't. We'll find this guy before it gets out of hand."

"May nearly got shot!" Peter said loudly, "that's not out of control? We should be out there, looking for him."

Tony tensed, "You're not going out, there's literal danger lurking in the shadows, and if you can't see that-"

Peter sighed, "I can see that. What if the next step is to tell everyone who I am?"

Tony pursed his lips, "Rhodey and I are going, and Vision, obviously, but not you."

Peter's eyes narrowed, "I can draw him out."

"Leave that to us."

"You keep saying that."

"Yeah, well, how about you listen this time? We have a lead."

Peter sighed, "fine. Go."

"I'll be back."

"Obviously." Peter smiled, watching him nod and leave the room.

"You need anything, you-"

"Tell Friday, yeah, I know."

* * *

He lost track of time tapping around on his phone, replying to Ned, making an excuse for missing practice to MJ and then just reading. He looked up and around quickly when the lights went out.

That wasn't supposed to happen. Right? It's the Avengers Facility, it _shouldn't_ happen.

"Friday?" He looked down at his dimly lit phone screen and turned on the flashlight. Something wasn't right. Not to mention that Friday, the AI that was programmed to answer him hadn't answered.

It was dark. Very dark. There weren't streetlights outside the Facility, just grass and that, which only made it that much scarier and darker inside. He fought petty criminals on the street, sure, but being alone in a huge never-ending building with the lights completely out was somehow worse.

"You know the thing about computers?" A loud voice echoed, making Peter nearly drop his phone. "They can be hacked."

It was deadly quiet. He could hear himself breathe. Hear how scared he sounded.

"There were easier ways for us to talk." Peter said confidently, turning the flashlight off and sliding down behind a sofa.

There was an uncomfortable pause, "I didn't want to talk."

Peter frowned, squeezing his eyes shut and listening to the sound of his heart thudding against his chest. There had to be a hundred ways out of a place this big, _if_ he could see.

"How hard do you think it'll be to put this place on lockdown?"

"I think it'll be harder than you think." Peter replied, hoping he didn't come off as scared as he sounded. He took hold of his shaking fist and sighed, "there were two other people fighting you, not just me."

He didn't get an answer this time, just the sound of things clattering in a corner.

"Come on out, Spider, unless you want me to fight your Aunt instead."

Peter tensed, turning his head towards the noise. "She's not here. You should-you should leave."

"I should?"

"I think her room's down this way, right?"

Peter stood up immediately, throwing a web blindly towards the noise and pulling. He heard a thud, so that was probably good.

He ducked behind the sofa, narrowly missing whatever was thrown at him then instead smashed the panes of glass behind him. _Mr Stark won't be happy._ He lifted the sofa from the bottom and threw it forwards, webbing the ceiling and pulling himself up in the chaos of the sofa smashing the table and possibly inconveniencing the attacker.

He could see the reflecting of the sink below him. There was so much at stake here. Because his aunt was here, this psycho knew who he was, and he wasn't like every other dude trying to run from petty theft. He was trying to kill him.

Peter crawled closer to the corridor, which he was beginning to now make out.

"Emergency generators kicking in." A mechanic voice projected loudly, and Peter shook his head.

The room lit up like a Christmas tree, and Peter looked down in anticipation. It was definitely the man they'd fought earlier. He was wearing the same armour. He looked around and it took him a total of a few seconds to notice Peter on the ceiling. He points his palm towards his direction, and Peter webbed across the room to the corridor, landing on his feet and running down as fast as he could.

He got to the end and turned left, listening to the clanging of metal behind him get closer and closer. He didn't even know which one of the hundred rooms May was in. He'd never been in the infirmary, which he took as a good thing. If he didn't know, then the psycho wouldn't either.

He got to the basement and sighed in relief, tapping in the four numbers. He'd watched Tony type them in about-

Denied. Denied? That was it. He tried once more and and then moved back, running a hand through his hair in panic when the doors didn't budge. "Shit."

Tracking time wasn't his best suit. He was late a lot, whether that was to school or getting home. This time it was miscalculating how much he'd have once he reached here, which he hadn't thought of, because the workshop was a safe place. His plan was getting in, making another plan by the time this guy decided to go searching for May instead and then enacting on his newly thought plan.

It wasn't hard to get back up the stairs though. Tony should have another door up here too, he thought, ending up back in the maze of corridors. He ran straight down, remembering that he still had his phone, but not the time to make a call. What he wouldn't give to be in his suit right now.

He webbed up to the ceiling as soon as he re-entered the living room, missing another shot from behind. Then he lost his balance. He _never_ lost his balance.

He fell hard. His head hit the corner of the marble table and if he thought he'd experienced pain before this, he was wrong. A pained cry escaped his mouth. He involuntarily rolled onto his back and tried blinking away he tears. His vision was already blurry, and it felt like he was having a migraine, but a hundred times worse.

His hands were shaking uncontrollably, even more so when he saw the blood on them from his head injury.

A blurry figure appeared in front of him, grabbing him by the collar and roughly pulling him up. "You're shaking like you're in Antarctica."

Peter drew ragged breaths, his hands weakly tugging at the strong grip around his collar. "Technology like this, it can change the world. And you're all too weak to see it."

* * *

I can't believe it took me a month to write this. With this one, I feel like I didn't write it as well as I imagined it (you get me?)….but better than nothing. This was for a request for Savvi and I'm going to be continuing this one for a part 2 btw!

And feel free to leave requests! Kinda running out of ideas here


	18. Chapter 18: Stalker (Part 2)

A blurry figure appeared in front of him, grabbing him by the collar and roughly pulling him up. "You're shaking like you're in Antarctica."

Peter drew ragged breaths, his hands weakly tugging at the strong grip around his collar. "Technology like this, it can change the world. And you're all too weak to see it."

"I can see you're-you're crazy." Peter stammered as he was slammed against the wall. He could see the smashed glass on the floor, the usually immaculate and white room stained now with spots of red here and there.

"You can help." That was a surprise. Peter frowned, gasping under the hold. "You're young. You can see what's right."

Peter sniffled, "yeah. Yeah, that-that sounds good." He lied.

"Yeah? 'Coz it sounds like you're lying to me."

"No, I'm not." Peter said. May always said he was bad at lying, and that was easily confirmed by Tony. Which is why he'd started working on phrasing things differently instead of straight out lying. _I was out helping a woman out of an unstable building_ \- didn't need to add that the building was seconds from collapsing. No one asked.

"We can get out of here." _So that it'll buy me time to get help._ "Let's go."

"Not so fast. The suits. I want them."

Peter frowned, "it's locked. The basement, I mean. The password changed, I can't get in, that's why I came back up."

"Then figure it out. Come on." He said threateningly, pulling Peter off the wall and beginning to push him down the corridor.

"If I can't?"

"You can."

He could've ran. He could be miles from this place if he knew May wasn't here. But she was. She was, so he couldn't just leave her. No, that'd be reckless. Or maybe staying here was reckless, especially if they were both going to end up dead anyway. The options raced through his mind and he clenched his fists, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Try anything, and watch what happens. Get in there." The man said when they were down the stairs and standing in front of the workshop.

He entered four random numbers twice and sighed. "He must've changed it. They're random. I can't guess."

"You're a genius."

"So are you, you keep reminding me."

"Okay, okay, find something powdery-"

"He doesn't use the keypad. Friday let's us in."

There was a more frustrated huff. "Screwdriver. There's one there." He pointed with his eyes to the corner. Peter turned and closed his eyes.

"Okay."

"Open it. We'll go from there."

He picked up the screwdriver, sure, but he didn't know what happened next. One second he was getting ready to just listen to what he was being told to do, and the next, he was stabbing a person in the neck. He'd never done that before.

He ran right back up those stairs, ignoring the pain all over his body and looking around the corridors to take the other way down. Going back to the living room was predictable.

"May?" He yelled, opening a few empty lab rooms and cursing under his breath. "Come on, May." He whispered.

He opened another one and stayed inside this time when the sound of angry stomping caught his ears outside. He stood still. Frozen.

"Really? That was all you had?" The voice was louder this time. More irritated. "Y'know, I'm gonna kill May first. Then you."

Peter immediately felt around his pocket for his phone and pulled it out, scrolling for Tony's number. He never actually called Tony. Always Happy, and he never even answered. He found it and called, waiting impatiently for Tony to pick up.

"Come on." He tapped his foot and looked up at the door, webbing it shut. It'd hold for as long as he needed to.

"Hello?"

"Mr Stark?"

"I said tell Friday-"

"He's here. He shut off all your-your stuff and-and just-"

"In the Facility?"

"Yes!" Peter screeched quietly, looking back up at the door cautiously. "Where's May?"

"I'm on my way."

"Where-"

"The infirmary. It's-it's not where you are. They didn't bring her over yet."

"Are you kidding me?"

"That's a good thing!" Tony replied defensively, "did he hurt you?"

"Yeah, I fell off the-nevermind. If you'd told me that before you left I wouldn't have stayed in this place." Peter said bitterly, running a hand through his hair. He could've ran out of this place instead of wasting time searching the rooms.

Tony sighed worriedly, "I'm on my way! We all are."

"He's gonna kill me. And you."

"Stay where you are. You're safe, right? That's why you're calling?"

He looked up at the ceiling and glared at the ventilator. He threw a web and pulled it off, squinting when the pieces of cement came off with it. He climbed up the side of the wall and slid into the tunnel, breathing heavily as he crawled down, keeping a close eye on the rooms below and trying desperately not to make a noise.

"Peter!"

"I'm-yeah, I'm in the ceiling."

"You're _in_ the ceiling?"

Tony's voice cut through the air as if on speaker up in here. "Sshh, the air vents-"

"Right. Right. Where's the guy?" Tony said, much more quietly.

"I don't know. I stabbed him and he's still alive. I don't even think he's human." Peter whispered lowly into the phone.

"Okay, you-"

He shook his head, "It's too loud in here I'm ending the call just hurry up."

"Peter-"

He ended it and put the phone back in his pocket slowly. The vents were bigger than the movies made it seem.

He crawled until he reached the living room. Always back to the living room. He slowly pushed the metal casing off and webbed it before it could crash on the floor, making more noise. He lifted it and put it aside, sticking his head out and then sighing shakily. He climbed out slowly, hating the feeling of being in plain sight. He was dead if that psycho came.

He looked up at the flashing red main door and then at the broken window. The door was probably locked, and it wouldn't take long to just climb out down from the window. He squinted at the metal bars that had popped up and hopped off he wall, running as fast as he could to the other end.

He kicked the edges of glass propping up from the bottom and then-then he was pulled backwards by something. Not hands. Something rough.

That caught him by surprise. His senses were flared up, maybe that's why he hadn't noticed anyone sneak up - because he was already so scared out of his mind that he couldn't tell the difference between immediate and chronic danger. That and he was hurt. Very badly.

He blinked quickly, both his hands flying up to hold on to whatever was dragging him back. He skidded over glass, trying his hardest to turn around. His head was throbbing, a bit like those horrible headaches he had after less than four hours of sleep that made him feel sick. Except this was a hundred-scratch that-a thousand times worse.

There was the noise of crunching glass and of Peter struggling to breathe and get free. Other than that it was silent. Peter watched the little archway to the corridor come and kicked upwards, sticking his feet to the ceiling and punching at nothing when he got free. He wasted no time, webbing right across the room and going back to the shattered window.

A huge bang overtook the room. And Peter staggered, looking down in surprise with body almost shivering. A dark red stain started spreading on his light blue shirt and he fell sideways, grabbing the window ledge.

He limped forwards along the ledge, past the endless glass panes. He wouldn't get far.

Now, didn't want to, _obviously_ , but he started panicking. Badly. What would happen to May? She had no one else. No one at all. She'd probably blame herself, or Tony, neither was good though. She'd probably move away from Queens. Or maybe move houses. _No_. She'd probably stay there, keeping his room exactly how it is and cry every time she went inside. That's what she did with Ben, and boy did she take a long time to get past that. Would she get past him too? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe his injury wasn't as serious as he was making out to be and he'd actually be fine to-

Rough hands grabbed his arms and he turned, looking straight at his attacker as he was pushed back. "What will be your legacy when you die?"

Peter blinked away tears, keeping a hand on his stomach. Nothing. No one knew who Spider-Man was. No one would even know he died, or even care that he did. He'd be some random boy who died in a car accident or something - that's probably how Tony would have to spin it.

"With my suit, I would've got you."

No he wouldn't have. Because he didn't.

"You're fast though. Who knew. A gun."

Peter definitely didn't. Free-falling out of the window probably would've done less harm than running around here did.

"You could've done good."

But he did.

"Instead of wasting your life."

That couldn't be right either.

Why did he even try and run? There was just _more_ glass. Tony loved designing this place obviously. The hand that had been grabbing him now took him by the collar, pushing him back roughly. _Damn_. Tony got pushed out of a window once, he saw on YouTube - but he had his suit to save him. Peter didn't.

He squeezed his eyes shut when he was jerked forwards, and then back. Back through the glass. His eyes involuntarily snapped open, and he saw the man standing there letting go of his collar and cocking his head to the side. "Have fun." He made out before time caught up and he hit the ground.

Poor May. She'd never get over it.

* * *

Tony wouldn't either, it turned out. He stood facing the window. His fists were clenched, his nails digging into his palm.

Heels he knew all too well clicked behind him and he closed his eyes, waiting until she called his name to turn.

"May gave me, uh, she wanted you to have it." she struggled to find the words and put down a familiar strikingly red piece of fabric on the table in between them." She doesn't blame you." _You shouldn't either_ , was what she wanted to say.

Tony frowned, clenching his jaw at the sight and feeling things he'd been trying all week to try and suppress.

Pepper sighed, "Tony, there was _nothing_ you could've done, Tony."

Tony nearly laughed at that, his eyes still on the mask. "He was just-he was _fifteen_ , Pepper. And now all that's left of him is this-" _mask? Come on!_

She looked back at him with big, watery, sympathetic eyes. "I'm sorry."

He nodded, turning back around before he lost control. He looked up at the still dented ceiling and shook his head, "world renowned tech. Couldn't keep one hacker out."

"He was smart."

"He was the one person I needed to keep out. I knew about him, Pep, I knew he was coming, I knew he was after Peter, and I did _nothing._ There was so much I could've-"

"Tony."

"No, I-"

"Tony!"

Tony blinked quickly and looked around, breathing heavily with Pepper tugging his arm on his left.

"You were-were you dreaming?"

He looked at her in confusion, still getting around to where he was. Outside the infirmary. Right.

"Uh," he squinted and pinched the bridge of his nose, "no, no," he brushed his hair back with his hand and straightened up, "any update on him?"

Pepper frowned worriedly, "not yet. They've been in there for two hours. He-" she stopped. Should she tell him? He wasn't there. He got knocked out of the sky probably just after Peter did. And definitely before he could find him. Right over the Facility.

"He what?"

Too late. "He wasn't doing well. He was in really bad shape." She raised her brows and hoped he'd gotten the message.

Tony's eyes narrowed, "I know he is, Pepper, that's why we're here-"

"No, I know, I meant I was here and, you know, things were happening-"

"What things? Pepper-"

"If you let me finish, I'll tell you."

"You're not really going anywhere, you keep-"

"You nearly died-"

"I'm in front of you. I'm in front of you! I'm not-"

"And you don't even listen to me, when I-"

"Okay, please stop, don't cry, I'll-"

"I mean I saw you fall out of the-I was in my car and-"

"Pepper!"

"I just don't want you to…" get your hopes up? No, that's not what you say in a situation like this.

Tony stared, squinting suddenly and placing a hand on his forehead. On the bruise.

"Are you okay? This is what I was saying. To get checked out instead of sleeping-"

"I didn't go to sleep?" Tony said, although it came out more like a question.

"Oh really? That wasn't you having a nightmare just then?"

"I'm not the one whose hurt!" Tony yelled, earning a scoff from her.

"You're _less_ hurt, doesn't mean you're _not_ hurt." Pepper corrected, earning and an angry sigh from him as he threw his head back softly against the wall, fidgeting on the uncomfortable chairs. He should put better chairs here.

He stared at the ceiling, "what about May?"

"She's…she's in and out. I decided not to tell her."

"I lied to him." Tony said automatically, "Before we left -I said it was a just a scratch. How did I screw this up so badly?"

"You didn't."

"Really? Because I have a whole family in hospital to prove that I did."

Pepper sighed as well, also leaning her head against the wall. "How many people have to tell you it wasn't your fault for you to believe it?"

"That's what people say to make the guilty person feel better. I'm not a child."

"Uh huh, I didn't notice."

He smiled and put his hand on top of hers. "I need him to be okay."

Pepper looked at him, "and he will be."

"Right.

She smiled and got up, looking down at her phone. "I'll be back."

He would've asked who was messaging her and where she was going. But she'd tell him if she needed to right? He had enough to deal with here, so he watched her go.

And she did, ending up standing a few meters behind Rhodey, who turned and frowned at the crunching glass under his feet.

"How's it looking?"

"Yeah. Not good. Guy's gone. I don't know if he'll be back and I feel horrible." Rhodey replied, looking at the bloody pieces of glass around the floor.

Pepper looked up at the destroyed room, "and the cameras?"

"They were down."

She jumped, turning to face Vision and sighing in relief. "Don't scare me." She warned, "but that's probably the only good thing that came out of this."

Rhodey looked at her questioningly.

Pepper looked at them both and threw up her hands in the air, "I mean, we know what happened, I don't think we need Tony watching it over and over again in excoriating detail. You know how he gets."

Rhodey nodded his head, "I guess."

"Is he still back there?"

"Yeah, so was I. It's not looking too good. He had a-" she hesitated and went quiet, "a brain bleed, they said a cerebral-"

"Oh my-Pepper!" Rhodey nearly staggered in response, and she started shushing him.

"You know it's only one corridor, right? He's right there, Rhodey!" She scolded in a low tone.

"He doesn't know?"

" _No_ , he doesn't know. He's-I'm pretty sure he has a concussion, first of all, or something-"

Rhodey shook his head, "I think you need to tell him."

Pepper looked at him incredulously, "I need to tell him? He'll go crazy. He's on the verge of a breakdown, and-and with all the Steve stuff."

"Come on, Pepper, that's not the same thing. He should know!"

"No, not yet, because he'll leave. Or do something crazy. Maybe both- _probably_ both."

"Yeah, and how do you plan on hiding it when the docs come walking out?"

"I'll handle it when that happens." She looked down and then back at Rhodey, "he's a-a child. A small, nice, child. I can't believe this happened, and in here." She shook her head, "and I didn't even tell his Aunt. She thinks he's doing homework in here." She said in a high-pitched tone. "I'm a bad person."

"That's not...true." Rhodey said, his mind preoccupied with other thoughts.

"I don't think that makes you a bad person." Vision added.

Pepper frowned, "that's reassuring, and you can't think, you're not even-can you? Can you think?" She asked, "never mind, sorry, discussion for another time."

"Pepper, you gotta calm down."

"I'm calm."

"Oh, I can see that."

"So now what?"

"Now we stop huddling in here like suspicious people who've done something…not good, and act normal."

"We haven't done anything bad."

"I mean-"

"Rhodey-"

"Okay, sorry. You're right. Let's just-let's go back there. Be with him. With them both."

* * *

Ohh did I get you? I was thinking of killing him off but that was just mean, but I had soo much fun writing this. I'm gonna add a part 3 just because I needed a time jump so I wanted to separate it this way - should've made this into a longer story.

Also, requests look awesome!

+reviews make me happy, leave them if you get a chance!


	19. Chapter 19: Stalker (Part 3)

His eyes snapped open, accompanied by a sharp intake of air. Peter blinked and squinted at the ceiling, groaning in pain as he lifted up his hand to feel the tubes all around him.

" _Good morning, I am FRIDAY, and the time is eleven twenty-seven._ " FRIDAY announced.

Peter squinted, "what?"

" _The time is eleven twenty-seven._ _I am glad to see you are awake. I am FRIDAY."_

He squeezed his eyes shut, "right. Yeah, I know who you are." He muttered, putting a hand over his forehead. _Get it together, dude._

His head was starting to hurt, and he wasn't sure whether the fact that he couldn't move his left hand properly was because he was just out of it or something else.

"Where's everyone else?" He paused, fidgeting and yawning tiredly. He rolled his eyes when he got no response, "FRIDAY-"

"You mean where's me?" A voice from his left cut in, and he turned his head to see Tony standing there with probably the happiest face he'd seen on him.

Peter smiled tiredly, finally relaxing and sinking back into the pillow.

* * *

"And this?" The doctor tapped his other knee.

"Yeah." Peter responded, unable to keep back a yawn or even keep sitting up straight.

Tony frowned worriedly, "why does he keep doing that? Yawning?"

The doctor smiled, "he's still on a lot of medications, it's normal, although I'm worried about the arm." She said, looking at them both.

"What about it?" Tony asked instantly, beating Peter to it.

"He's still having difficulties moving it, right, Peter?"

Peter was hesitant, "a little. It's just-it feels like I have to really focus on it. It'll go away though, right?"

"You've been sleeping for a while, it should've healed. We'll see another week and then check you again."

Tony seemed worried. "Do you think it's serious?"

"I'm not sure. Can I talk to you, Tony?"

He nodded, patting Peter and following the doctor to a corner. They were obviously talking about him, but he didn't listen in. Doing things he wasn't supposed to had gotten him enough trouble - although this wasn't exactly all his fault. So he waited. Waited until the lady left and Tony walked back to Peter.

"Is-is everything okay?"

Tony paused, "yep. Great. Everything's perfect." So that meant something was wrong.

"Is it my hand? My arm?"

"I just said-stop worrying, okay?" Tony waved his hand dismissively.

Peter nodded, 'how long do I have to stay here?"

There was something on Tony's face every time he answered. Regret? Something he couldn't quite make out. "A week…two maybe. In the infirmary."

"Did you find me?" Peter asked, unsure of where it came from, because he was trying not to get into all that just straight away.

"Pepper and Rhodey found you." The smile had now completely disappeared. "You've been here for a-how's everything? Your head, particularly?"

"Uh, good. It hurts a little."

"You didn't tell her that-I'll call her-"

"It's not that bad. I figured it was normal after hurting your head."

Tony looked in caution, "yeah, I guess. If it gets bad, you tell me."

"I will, how long have I been here?" Peter asked eagerly, scanning his room. There were jackets on the chairs that looked like they belonged to Tony, and a few screwdrivers and pieces of tech on a corner table.

"A while."

"How long's a while?" Peter asked, starting to fiddle with the cannula.

"Don't touch that, you really gotta play with everything you see?" Tony scolded, earning a look from Peter, who moved his hands away.

Tony looked around the room as if seeing the first time, and sat down next to Peter, because that _was_ a first. He'd spent endless nights in here worrying something would go wrong.

"I don't think I need it."

"Let's just stop at you 'don't think'." Tony paused, patting Peter's back and turning to him, "you good?"

Peter stared, "uh, y-yeah, I'm-I'm good."

"You're stammering."

Peter let out a single laugh, " uh, I'm-I'm just nervous."

"Why?"

"You're-you know, you're here, and-"

"I'm making you nervous?"

Peter scoffed, "no. No, but I only see you when you're there to tell me I'm in trouble."

"Right. Well, you're not, at this current…moment." He mumbled, his mind indulged in other thoughts.

"Yeah, I figured."

"So listen-"

"I just wanna know how long I've been here."

"Two months." Tony said bluntly.

Peter frowned, "two months? Are you serious?" His eyes widened in surprise, "is-is May here? She's probably super worried. Can you get her? She's probably mad as well, and I have school-" he stopped talking when he noticed that Tony hadn't stopped him with something like 'she's fine, stop talking'. "What's wrong?"

Tony clenched his jaw and avoided Peter's eyes. Pepper was supposed to do this. They discussed it. Pepper would tell him. "I, uh, I'm gonna quickly call Pepper-"

"Pepper? Where's May?"

He took a shaky breath, "There was a-an accident. She…she was…." he shook his head in despair, keeping his voice steady. _Come on_.

Peter's face scrunched up, "what? Is she here too? Is she okay?" He moved back from Tony and stared at him hopefully. Because May was probably in the other room?

Nice, could he have worsened the situation? "No, sorry, I meant she's not here." He mentally cursed himself. Come on, Tony.

"You're not-where is she, then? Is she home?" Peter pressed, clearly scared out of his mind. She wouldn't be home, she'd never leave him alone. Peter knew that. He was just running out of places and scenarios as Tony told him sentence by sentence.

Tony looked at him and tried to get his wording right. "She didn't make it out."

Peter looked offended. "She 'didn't make it out'? What the hell is that even supposed to mean?" He yelled angrily.

That was one side of Peter he'd never seen. Peter never got angry. He got upset, but never angry.

Tony closed his eyes and looked up at him, "she died, Peter. We tried but she was….I know this must be hard to-"

Peter shook his head, "no, no." He took heavy breaths, staring at the floor. He scoffed and gave a watery fake smile, "you said it was a-a 'scrape'."

"That's not how she died." Tony said, grimacing when he said that word again. He decided not to continue with the details for now.

Peter looked heartbroken. That was it? He was never going to see her again? That didn't even make any sense.

He didn't realise that he'd started crying already. Tony pulled him in with a hand on the back of Peter's neck. "Sorry."

With that word, Peter broke down. "No," he cried, his breath hitching as he held onto Tony's arm tightly. "I didn't even-I didn't even tell her-" he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"It'll take time, but it'll get better. Even if it doesn't feel like it right now." He decided to say instead. That was true, at least.

"No, no, what am I even-" he cried harder into Tony's chest and shook his head at the same time. "She can't be-" he pulled away from Tony all of a sudden. "Are you sure?" He said with a sniffle, looking with the smallest glimmer of hope. "May-maybe you didn't look properly, or she's just-"

"Peter." Tony said softly but firmly, to pull him out of his ramblings.

His face scrunched up and he was pulled in again by Tony. He found that unusual, not that he was complaining in his current state. He was a mess. _Beyond_ a mess. But Tony was never one to outwardly show affection.

"I can't-"

"I'm right here." Tony said automatically, running his hand through Peter's hair.

Peter's cries were suppressed. He barely made a noise, and if he wasn't shaking ever so slightly and sniffling here and then, Tony wouldn't be able to tell if he was actually crying or not. _Better than how he handled his parents death_. No, maybe it was the fact that he didn't know Tony all that well. He wouldn't have broken down in front of s stranger either. _Well_ , he wasn't a stranger, per se, but they didn't spend that much time together either.

"I'll help you. With whatever you need."

"Where am I-I'm fifteen." Peter stated dumbly into Tony's shoulder. Tony gently held him up straight and looked at him seriously. "They'll-" he looked past Tony in a mix of thoughts, "I'll have-a-a-"

"I turn sixteen in a three months." He said more clearly, but still more or less to himself while Tony watched him ramble.

It was obvious, but Tony didn't see where he was going with that, "I'm sure you do, I'll throw you a great party. But Peter-"

Peter wasn't looking at him anymore, "I mean if you can leave home, legally, at sixteen then living alone shouldn't be hard. Or maybe that was in New Zealand, I read it somewhere-"

"Peter."

"Is it seventeen?" Peter asked, looking up. "But that's for runaways, right? Whose gonna call the authorities on me?" His eyes were teary, like he'd continue crying any second. "

"What's so bad about staying here?" Tony said, and Peter disregarded the question with the face he made.

"Because I have to have a plan."

"How about the plan being you stay here?"

Peter wasn't listening. "Okay, there's this place downtown-"

"I'm not repeating my question."

"You're not my family." Peter said as matter-of-fact, and Tony would be lying if he said that didn't hurt a little. "You-you can't just go and stay with people." Peter said it as if it was a ridiculous suggestion.

"I'm not 'people', we know each other."

"I 'know' a lot of people, doesn't mean I'm gonna just go live with them."

What was he talking about? "You would've taken the Avengers spot, it's the same thing."

"I don't want to be an Avenger." He said in a high-pitched voice.

"Then don't be one." Tony said instantly.

"No, because then you're only letting me stay because you feel sorry for me. I can take care of myself." He said, his voice cracking.

"I know you can." Tony urged. He didn't believe that though. May didn't. Because Peter couldn't do that. Not yet. And he didn't know what he'd now that May wasn't around to call him in the middle of the night, panicking, sometimes crying but with the same "he's probably dying in some alleyway, I can't believe you tricked me into letting him do this!" She jumped to the worst case scenarios pretty quickly.

"Hundreds or thousands of sixteen year olds live by themselves."

Tony scoffed, "okay, well a, you're not even sixteen, and b, I don't think that's accurate."

"I'm not staying here."

"Is it because of what happened?"

Peter didn't reply for a minute, just pursed his lips and then ran a hand over his face, "no."

"No? Then why?"

"I told you-"

"You didn't say-"

"Because everyone is dead, Mr Stark. You're asking me to stay because you think I'm a child that can't do anything by himself."

"I don't think it, kid, because you _are_ a child." Tony said loudly, watching him shrink.

"You wouldn't help anyone else, why should I stay?"

"Because you need it?"

"And other people don't?"

"I don't know 'other' people. I know you. I also don't know why it's so hard for you to just accept help."

Peter scoffed, "I don't need help."

"You're staying."

Peter squinted, "you can't make me."

"What the hell do you think is gonna happen when social services show up? What are you gonna tell them?"

"I'll go before they do." Peter said confidently. It was a big lie though, he hadn't thought of all of that.

"That's a…a horrible plan. Where are you gonna go to school? How do you know I haven't already called them?"

Peter looked extremely upset, "You called them?"

"No-"

"They're gonna make me live with a random family-"

"Or I can let you stay here." Tony interrupted, loudly and clearly.

"She didn't want me doing this. She hated it. She told me not to go out late, not to go out with missions with you and I never listened. Because you always told her you'd-" he didn't say the rest because he didn't need to. Tony clenched his jaw in guilt. "-because nothing bad every happened. Except now it did. She's dead, because it did. And I'm not."

"It wasn't your fault. You don't need to feel guilty about being alive." Tony said as matter-of-fact. "We caught the guy, though. He's dead, but we caught-"

"I don't care about him! It was _your_ fault." Peter said loudly, looking at him angrily. "You're always promising things and you-you-she was one person! You couldn't even save one person!" He yelled angrily, clenching his fists and bringing his right one up only to control himself and push it against his forehead in anger.

That was uncalled for.

He spoke again before Tony could, more quietly. "How can I stay here when she's dead because of us? She didn't fight him. _We_ did. _We_ screwed up."

"No, _I_ did. This is on me. Look, let me make something right. I promised her I'd take care of you."

That caught Peters attention. "Before she died?"

Tony hesitated, "yeah. Yeah, before she..."

"What did she say?"

Tony stared hard, contemplating if he should say what he was thinking about saying. He did. "That she loved you. A lot. And she was…she was proud of you."

Peter stared with big, brown eyes. "What else?"

"That you're gonna do something great one day."

He was seconds from crying again. "She said that?"

"She did. You really think if she was here she'd be happy sending you off to a-a foster home or some runaways club?" Okay, that was necessary - for Peter to understand where he was coming from.

Peter shook his head, "No."

"Is that a yes to staying here?"

He sniffled, "yeah." It was quiet. Barely audible, but it was all Tony needed.

He put an arm around Peter's shoulders, "you'll be okay. I'll make sure you are."

Peter didn't say anything, just gave a small nod.

"I had to hear from FRIDAY that he was up." Pepper chimed from behind, her heels clicking as she walked in with a sad smile.

Tony looked back but kept his arm around Peter, who looked up with those same teary eyes.

"Sorry, we were kinda having a thing here." Tony said, looking back at Peter.

"Uh huh. How's our Climber?"

"He's-he's getting there."

Pepper nodded. "Do you want your friends here? I told them you woke up. They're really, really excited to see you."

Peter was glaring at the floor.

"Peter." Tony shook him slightly, and he looked up in confusion. "You want Ned and the girl to come?"

"MJ?"

"Right. She's new to the circle?"

"Not really."

"Yes or no?"

"No."

Tony frowned, turning to him and sighing. "Are you sure? Just for a few hours."

Tony could tell he was a having a hard time keeping a straight face. "Or not. Your choice."

Pepper stood awkwardly, pursing her lips. She waited till Peter was looking down again and mimed at him to leave.

He didn't want to. "Peter, I gotta step out for-"

"It's fine. I'm okay."

 _No you're not_. "I'll be back."

Peter gave a small smile.

"I found your phone." He pointed at the side table and reached for it, handing it to Peter. "I'll be back." He repeated.

Pepper watched him go and followed, slowly closing Peter's door and then turning to Tony. "Are you crazy?"

"What?"

"You can't say things like that."

"Like _what?_ "

"What his Aunt said? She didn't say anything! She was-Tony she wasn't even alive when we…"

Tony frowned, clenching his jaw and looking at Peter through the glass, who was lifelessly staring at the window.

"She said it. Just not when she was dying." He explained, earning a scoff.

"I can't-"

"Give me this, okay? It was my best guess."

Pepper looked at him like he was insane. "It's not your place to make guesses, Tony, this isn't a game! His last living relative just died and you're filling his head with lies."

"She said those things a hundred times!" She lifted up both hands in disbelief and he took hold of them, "-listen to me, Pep, I've spent time enough time with them. She would've wanted this."

Pepper shook her head in worry. "You just cemented that into his mind. He's gonna believe this for the rest of his life, and if he finds out otherwise then-"

"No one but you, me and Rhodey know what happened. Let him have this. I'm gonna go with my better judgement when I say that she wouldn't want her nephew wandering around on the streets." He said sarcastically.

"I'm not sure."

"Come on, what would she have said? That she loves him and probably wants someone to take care of him like she has. I can to do that for him."

Pepper closed her eyes and sighed. "I know. I know, are you sure about this?"

"A hundred percent."

"Because he's still a child. He's not an Avenger. He's a small, person who needs a lot attention and-and you know care and-"

"Pepper."

"-you can't just let him do what he wants. Like, wow, you need to-"

"You'll be here, right?"

Pepper glanced at Peter again, "yeah, I'll be here."

"Then we'll do great."

"This is just…so huge."

"My dad did a great job. I'll be fine."

"Tony."

Tony raised his eyebrows, "that was a joke."

"Okay then."

"Okay."

* * *

Wow, emotional scenes are very, very hard to write I think it turned out okay. +I didn't include how May died in case you're wondering or think you missed it.

Next one will be for Nolovelosthere, then for EndlessGalaxies97 - leave any requests you have!

loverofbooks - was it the dream bit? That was meant to be a dream if that's what confused you, sorry!

Leave reviews if you enjoyed - I'd mention you all here if I could because you're all wonderful!


	20. Chapter 20: The Accords

Peter looked around in fear, listening to his own heart race and thud against his chest.

"Move and we shoot!" The leading cop shouted, all their guns pointed to Peter, who has one hand pressed against his own hurting chest.

"I didn't do anything!" Peter yelled back, because he hadn't. And he was injured, which meant running away was going to be harder to do this time. He shouldn't have gone out today. Not when he knew they were looking for him.

"I think we will decide that."

He'd never been this scared. He'd never been caught, and being caught was one of his biggest fears. Because being caught was just short of being unmasked, which was something he'd never do willingly.

"Spider-Man, you're under arrest for breach of the Accords." Another voice echoed in the dark alleyway, sending a shiver down Peter's spine.

Peter frowned, "The what?"

"The Accords. Hands up now."

"This is a mistake." He said, seconds from slinging away.

"Yeah, I don't think so. Now you wanna turn around, _Peter_?"

Peter nearly stopped breathing. He took heavy, shaky breaths and lifted up his hands, turning around to face the wall. He heard running behind him and was soon roughly being pushed against the wall as his wrists were grabbed.

* * *

Peter sat on the edge of the metal bench and stared tearfully at the flashing red bracelets they'd made him wear. Had they told May yet? Or were they going to just lock him away without another word? Maybe-

"Peter."

Peter looked up instantly, sighing a shaky breath of relief when he saw who was standing in front of him behind the bars.

"You're here to get me out, right?" Peter asked, hope lingering in his voice as he stood up and grabbed the bars.

Tony looked worried. More worried than he'd ever looked, in front of Peter at least. He didn't reply though.

"Mr Stark!"

"I-" he stopped and frowned, reaching through the bar gaps and placing a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I don't know."

Peter's eyes widened, tears about to fall. "What-what do you mean you don't know?"

Tony squinted and moved Peter's head with his hand, looking worriedly at the red marks. "What did they do?"

Peter moved Tony's hand, "nothing."

"That looks like something clawed at you."

"Does it matter? I might be stuck here for the rest of my life who cares about a scratch?"

Tony gripped his shoulder again, "I care. What did they do?"

Peter sighed, "they took off my mask."

Tony looked sympathetic, which was the last thing Peter needed right now. But he also had the "continue" look on his face.

"They _forcefully_ took off my mask." Peter said, touching the horrible scratches and grimacing.

Tony ran a hand over his face, "they weren't supposed to find you. And if-"

Another voice interrupted. "If what?"

Tony turned around to see Ross standing behind him. He scoffed, "Of course you're here, behind all of this. Of course."

Ross scoffed, "Don't act surprised."

"I _am_ surprised. Surprised that you're willing to stoop so low as to get a teenager warped up in all-"

"I warned you." Ross cut in, straightening his tie.

"You're full of bullshit."

Ross frowned, glancing at Peter. "He's an enhanced individual, who you knew about. So why? Why didn't he sign the Accords? He knew he was supposed to."

Tony sniffed in disapproval, "no, he didn't, because he's a kid."

"All Avengers had to sign."

Tony shook his head in disbelief, "Yeah, well, he's not an Avenger."

Ross raised his brows, "he fought as an Avenger."

Tony rolled his eyes, "I don't know whose feeding you this cracked-"

"Germany. Was he not there? Was that someone else swinging around in a red suit?"

"Red's actually a popular choice for superhero costumes. Me, that Ant guy...maybe your eyes weren't working."

Peter looked over to Tony desperately. His life possibly depended on this failing conversation. This failing conversation that was already half-based on lies. Because Peter _was_ there with Tony. And Ross didn't actually care about that and was looking for something else.

"Drop the act. We both know you can't make him sign or arrest him."

"I disagree. You read them, right? The Accords? Any enhanced individual deemed to be a threat to the general public can be detained without trial."

"He's a minor."

"Yeah, well, the lines get blurry. He's also enhanced. A possible threat. An enhanced who didn't sign, most importantly."

"He's a threat." Tony repeated with a humourless laugh, "According to who?"

"To me. The Secretary of State."

Tony was glaring with bloodshot eyes. "He's a child. You know he's not a threat to anyone. Don't do this."

"You have to know where some of them are."

"You're still on your witch hunt. That's on me for being stupid enough to think you were mature enough to-."

"You look the other way, I'll do the same."

Tony looked over to Peter, who was waiting impatiently for the answer, but still looked down and spoke. "You don't have to do that. They're still your friends." Sure, he said it, but he didn't mean it. He didn't want Tony to leave him in here forever.

"How about we let _him_ decide that, Spider-Man." Ross chimed in, looking over at Tony in anticipation.

Tony was stuck. Truly stuck for once. "You're sick."

"I'll be outside. Waiting for you to tell him you ruined his life. Literally."

There was a second of silence. Peter watched him leave and clenched his jaw.

"Peter-"

A click interrupted them and the glass in front of the bars slid open. Tony held on and looked sympathetically, about to continue.

"I'll understand if you...you know, if you don't do anything." Peter said, letting go of the bars and stepping back to sit on the bench.

Tony frowned when he stepped away, "come on, Peter, I'm not doing 'nothing'".

"What _are_ you doing, then? You weren't the one who got the others free last time, you can't do anything." Peter said, panic arising in his voice.

Tony ran a tired hand over his face, "I'm-I'm planning, okay? We can think of something like-"

"Like what? He doesn't want anything else. He wants Captain America. And you don't _have_ Captain America!" Peter shouted, unaware that he was now standing and leaning against the wall in panic.

Tony gripped the bars, "now's not the time for this, Peter, look at me."

Peter looked up, tears welling in his eyes. It hit him that this could end badly this time.

"I'd never just leave you in here." Tony said softly and firmly.

"Willingly. You wouldn't leave me in here _willingly_. What if you can't stop them?" Because Tony doesn't always have all the answers. Sure, he gets out okay most times, but he can't do everything. There are people more powerful than him.

"A day. You'll be out. Two at the most." Tony said.

"I'll be in here for a day?"

"Or two. But yeah. They can't move you anywhere yet." Tony stated, confident in what he said.

Peter looked at him suspiciously, "And how do you know that?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I _did_ read that trash called the Accords. You know, jibber-jabber, 'waiting here for processing'. You'll see me again."

Peter clenched his jaw, "they know who I am now."

"It's not their business to tell."

Peter shook his head in disbelief, "but they can, can't they? Just get me out."

"I will." He replied, looking down at Peter. "Not gonna hug me a goodbye?"

"I'm literally in a jail cell. And you hate hugs." Peter said, walking forwards to the rods and holding them, resting his head against the middle and closing his eyes.

"I would if I could, actually." He smiled, "I know this sucks."

"I've never been arrested before." Peter stated dumbly.

Tony ruffled Peter's hair. Of course he hadn't been arrested. He was a perfect fifteen-year old. "It'll turn out fine."

Peter opened his eyes and looked up, "okay."

"Okay." Tony said, patting his shoulder and smiling. "I'll see you soon." He said, sadly looking at Peter before taking off. He didn't want to leave him here all alone. Who knows what could happen, and all he could hope was that there was no shady business while he was gone. Because with Ross, there always was.

Peter watched him leave and stepped back, sighing and sliding against the wall onto the floor. This was literally the worst day of his life. This was a nightmare come true.

* * *

A day.

He could do a day. Yeah. Totally. A day wasn't hard. It-

"Get up."

Peter snapped back to reality and lifted his resting head to see a man dressed in black standing on the other side of cell.

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said get up."

That wasn't right. "Where are we going?"

"Okay, are we gonna have a problem here?"

The tone was more than threatening. Peter shook his head and grabbed the bench to pull himself up. The cell clicked open and the man walked in menacingly.

"Where are-"

"Arms forward."

Peter complied, reaching out as the man clinked his wrists together and locked them in place with something. He'd never felt so trapped before.

Peter was confused, to say the least, and even more scared. Maybe they were taking him out to kill him. Tony said he was supposed to stay here, so something wasn't right.

They walked down the corridor until they reached a huge door, which was opened by yet more men dressed in black. He was pushed in and he tumbled inside, looking up and frowning.

"Hello, Mr Parker." Ross smiled.

He stared back and was suddenly grabbed by huge hands, which dragged him forwards and sat him down on an uncomfortable chair.

"I know how to sit." Peter said sarcastically, looking at the man standing in front of him while trying to mask his own fear.

Ross scoffed, "I don't know what Stark's planning. But how about you help _yourself_ out?"

Peter already didn't like the sound of that, so he didn't reply, just continued to stare like a hawk.

"Come on, _Peter_ , we both know how you were spending your schooldays in July."

Peter tensed, looking discreetly to his sides as the men also stepped closer to him. He still didn't talk.

"That alone is enough to keep you here."

"What do you want from me?" Peter asked, tired of the playing around.

"Maybe you heard something. Chatter? You've been spending a lot of time in with Iron Man."

Peter pursed his lips, "He doesn't tell me anything about that."

"You expect me to believe he took you to fight them and he 'doesn't tell you anything'? You see how that's hard to believe, right?"

Peter looked around the dimly lit room. There were no camera. He took a shaky breath, "No. No, I don't know anything. He just helped me with my suit."

Ross stepped in closer, suddenly leaning in and grabbing the arm of the chair.

Peter moved back against the back and frowned.

"You know something. Think, Peter. Do you wanna go back home or stay in here for the rest of your life all because you didn't want to help us catch the bad guys?"

"If I knew something, I'd say." Peter said. That wasn't true, he didn't know if he would. Also, they weren't the bad guys. Tony had spent enough time drilling that into his head. 'They're not evil, Peter', and 'there was some miscommunication, Peter', and 'no one was thinking straight, Peter, leave it alone'. He'd heard those sentences a million times from Tony. Those along with the usual 'we'll talk about it later'.

Ross scoffed again, "no, you wouldn't. You all think - with your-your hero complexes - that everyone else is beneath you, because what? You swing around in a red suit saving cats from trees?"

Peter clenched his jaw now that this man was shouting directly in his face. "I don't think that." That was all true. He didn't think that.

"Come on, Peter. We're on the same page." Ross said with a horribly nice tone. It didn't suit him.

"Are we? Because you're threatening to lock me away all because you can't find one man in the space of six months and you think a teenager can help you." Peter replied.

That got him. Ross stepped back and nodded his head and the hands that had set him down were now grabbing him again, holding him in place.

"Let me go." Peter said, his voice staying unusually calm. "I'm fifteen, you can't-"

"Sometimes we need motivation, to do the right thing." Ross interrupted.

Peter blinked away tears, mouth agape, no longer trying to get free. He watched Ross reach into his pocket and take out something small. A syringe?

"Hey, hey, stop!" Peter yelled, sinking as far backwards as he could. "You can't-you can't-"

"People will do anything to feel in control." Ross mumbled, nodding his head at the men holding him down. "Maybe someone in here needs a reminder."

He felt nails dig into the back of his neck when they turned his head forcefully. He tried lifting his arms, which were also being held down. Then he felt a sting in his neck, and he took a few heavy breaths before he was let go.

"That wasn't so hard."

Peter blinked, falling forwards involuntarily before being pushed back against the chair.

"Do you feel that, Peter?"

Peter clenched his fists tightly, feeling his own nails digging faintly into his palms as everything went numb. He took heavy breaths and realised it wasn't going away - that suffocation.

"How hard it is to do something you don't even think about? To breathe?"

His vision was starting to blur, and his heart was racing.

"I would feel bad, but you're not all human, are you?"

He was crying. He didn't know it, but he was. He bent forwards and squeezed his eyes shut, listening to himself gasp for breath.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his teary eyes to look at Ross with a questioning look on his face.

"I'm not trying to hurt you."

The words echoed in the back. Isn't that what all the bad guys say? Peter didn't say anything, just took short, snappy breaths and mentally cursed Ross for even saying that.

"I'm just after some very important information. You know," he shook his head and stood up, pulling up another chair to sit right opposite Peter, "people misunderstand me."

"I-I-" Peter squinted, his eyes blurring with the tears. What the hell did they give him?

Ross ignored that, "they fail to see the big picture. Look, you tell me where the runaway group is, and I get them. _We_ assure the world that we're listening to their concerns." He explained. "People are protected the _right_ way. Not by hippies running in where they see fit causing destruction wherever they go because they think they're too good for supervision."

Peter tried clenching his fists again, but his fingers didn't move this time. Everything felt numb.

"It's wearing off. There we go. Do you have anything you'd like to tell me?"

"I don't know anything." His voice was hoarse. This was annoying. He probably sounded like a liar, but why was it so hard to believe that a fifteen year old from Queens didn't know where Cap n' gang were hiding?

"See, that sounds like a lie." Ross said, sighing, "you're okay now, have you rethought your position?"

Peter sighed, "Mr Stark doesn't even trust me with a screwdriver. Why would he tell me where Captain America's hiding?"

"Okay, okay, if you're so set on that." Ross put up both hands in the air and looked aside for a moment. "But you know that they met, don't you?"

"What?" Who met?

"Stark. Stark and Rogers. They met after the whole escape? He came to the Raft, disappeared, went to see Rogers, I'm sure."

Yeah, he did that. He totally did that. He'd heard him tell Happy. He wasn't meant to know, though.

"I-I don't know. I was with Happy-"

"Don't bullshit me."

"Your entire case is bullshit." Peter said without thinking, looking up in realisation as soon as he said it. "I didn't-"

He could hear something scraping in the back, something _juggling_. Water? He turned his head as far left as he could and watched a few people scuffling with their backs turned. But his neck hurt. It was stiff.

"Where are we?" Peter asked, keeping his eyes on them. "If we're-"

"What laws protect a…a being like yourself? Huh?" There was a pause, "radiation. You're actually the second one I know. Like Dr Banner. He was-he was…well. You know him." Ross mumbled, not that Peter could actually understand what he was saying, or _trying_ to say.

"What?"

"Blurry lines. That's all I'm saying. All I _have_ been saying."

Then suddenly, he was grabbed and basically lifted off the chair. "Okay, okay, wait!" Peter tried, planting his feet weakly onto the floor, but he was still drowsy.

So it didn't do much good, they kicked one of his legs in and he lost control, falling forwards and continuing to be dragged across the room. His face scrunched up at the water. "Wait!"

Ross stepped in front of him. "What? Do you remember something, Peter?"

Peter looked back at him, "I'm-" he stopped and clenched his fists tightly behind his back. "Look, just-"

"Alright, then."

"No, hey! I can-"

He drew in a desperate, last-second breath of air as soon as he felt someone grab the back of his neck, knowing what was about to happen.

Then everything went black. His eyes were squeezed shut, and all he could hear was white noise blocking his ears. Blocking everything. He wasn't sure that he lasted more than just twenty seconds when he involuntarily inhaled.

It felt horrible, like nothing he's ever felt before. Because he's never drowned before, of course. He jerked, desperately trying to lift his head out of the water.

Then he saw flashes. Flashes of memories. _May_. _Ben_. _This could be how he dies_. Because why else is his mind showing him that? Maybe to show him what he'd screwed up. Maybe because these were his happy times. _Ben glancing at May and quickly stashing her meatloaf in a tissue as she worked._ But Peter can't remember when this is from. He can't even remember ever remembering that. And then it was May. _May pulling him into a hug and it feeling like she'll never let go._ Isn't this what-

Just as the memories and thoughts hit him like a train, he was pulled back to reality. _Yanked_ back. He blinked rapidly and coughed, gasping and choking on water.

 _What the hell?_

All he could hear was himself panting and his own suppressed cries. And feel the tears make their way down his cheeks as he tried, and failed, to stand up.

But then he was under again. And he was disoriented this time. Partly because he didn't see it coming, which was why he lasted just seconds before he found himself breathing in water. His knee slipped and he sank deeper. There was a struggle behind him until he was pulled back up again.

He couldn't stop coughing up water this time. If they hadn't been holding him up by his shoulders, he was sure he would've collapsed.

His throat was stinging, stopping him from breathing in the air that he so badly needed. Because maybe his mind thought he was in danger. Still underwater.

"That's it." A voice said in the distant, and then he felt tapping on his back as he started to cry. Because he was too lost. Lost and unhinged. He didn't understand or know what was happening, and his mind was having trouble putting together the pieces as he continued to try and just…breathe.

Then he blacked out altogether.

* * *

"And?"

"And? And I'm trying to get him free!" Tony yelled across his workshop.

"No one is doubting you!" Pepper shouted, just as fiercely, standing at the door. She took a calm breath and then looked at him again, "But-"

"I told him two days. I already wasted this one."

"You didn't waste it. You're trying your best!"

Tony scoffed, "really? I got him tied up in all of this. I never think, I just act." Tony said, slicing his hand in the air. "Now he's with that psycho, and I mean that, the guy's crazy! What he did when Bruce-"

"Tony, I'm just worried about you. We all are."

"About me? There's a fifteen year old sitting alone in a super-max cell because of me."

"Okay, well what are you planning? Can you at least tell me that?"

Tony contemplated it and flicked his finger at the edge of the table. "Ellis. Ellis is what I'm planning."

Pepper frowned, "Ellis as in our President, Ellis?"

"The one and only."

"What's he gonna do?"

"I saved him from death. Literal death, Pepper. That's gotta count for something." He leaned back against his chair, "why else do I do this? Favours go a long way."

Pepper rolled her eyes, "are you really asking me that? Because usually it's that you think everything that goes wrong in this world is your fault. That's the usual reason."

"No, I don't do that. I don't-"

"That and your inability to listen to what anyone else says. That also makes the list. Making people owe you favours usually doesn't."

Tony rolled his chair around, "okay, that's-that's funny. But I saved him. And he's the one and only person Ross reports to."

Pepper nodded, smiling "that might work."

"Yeah. It better." Tony said, "hey, can you ask MJ to do something for me?"

Pepper raised her eyebrows, "only if you acknowledge that she's also fifteen."

"She'll jump in."

* * *

He woke up with a sharp inhale, looking around quickly to see that he was back where he started. In the cell.

For a second, his mind was tricked into thinking that it might've just been a dream. That is, until he felt the dampness of his hair on the pillow, and reached to double check.

Then he froze. As if more movement would get him in more trouble. As if _any_ movement might catch someone's eye and they'll take him back _there_. He felt tears in his eyes and slowly moved his arm, still staring intensely at the ceiling.

Then he finally moved, when the fearful paralysis was over. He sat up, bringing his shaking hands in front of his eyes. The flashing bracelet was still there.

Realistically, he knew there was nothing he could have done. They were stronger, there were more of them, they had him with _these_ stupid things. But another part of him wasn't so sure. He could've said something else, right? There're always options. Otherwise-

"Peter. How are you feeling?"

Peter's head quickly turns to see the man who did all this standing in front of him.

Peter was scared.

It has to show, he thought, because he could feel the tears springing back, and his face was scrunching up in fear just thinking about the last time they met.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to take you." Ross said, as if that was meant to offer him complete comfort.

Peter continued to stare, his frown getting deeper.

Ross sighed, "you understand why that was necessary, don't you? It's standard."

 _Standard? Standard for who?_

He still didn't say anything, though, because anything and everything could get him into trouble here. He doesn't need more trouble. He just wants to get out.

"On that note," he continued, "do you have anything to say to me? Maybe a memory was triggered."

Memories _were_ triggered. Just not the ones that Ross was looking for. "No." Peter finally says, figuring it would be better to answer.

"In time. In time."

Then he left, and the lights suddenly went out. It was completely dark. It made him uneasy. Scared again. He didn't like this feeling, because its unnerving and unpredictable. It made his heart beat faster, and his thoughts wonder in places he didn't want them to. The prominent one being:

Is he stuck in here forever?

FHAFH

AFJAFJ

JAFJAJF

Tony barged through the double doors in anger, because hours of waiting and being told that there are "rules" he had to follow had almost brought him to a breaking point.

"Right across the-"

"I know where he is." Tony snapped at the man who condescendingly pointed the way to Peter.

He power-walked, passing empty cells until he reached Peter's.

Peter didn't seem to hear him come up, because his head is still resting on his palms as he sits up on the bench. Tony found that unusual, because Peter, who has super-hearing, doesn't hear him walk up? This is Peter, who says things like ' _you're heartbeat's getting faster, are you lying, Mr Stark?'._

So Tony knocked on the glass, and the reaction he got was heart-breaking. Peter looked up in fear and surprise, relaxing immediately when he saw who it was. His eyes were bloodshot, but he smiled.

"Mr Stark."

"H-hey." Tony said in surprise, because the last time he left Peter, the boy was upset, sure, but he was full of energy, hope and countless other things that he usually is.

"Are you here to get me out?" Peter asked, aware that his voice was flat and pained as soon as he spoke.

Tony frowned at him, "uh, hopefully." He nodded, "what's going on?"

Peter lets out a humourless laugh, "I've been stuck here for-" he stopped and started thinking, then gave up and looked at Tony.

"Three days." Tony said shamefully, because he broke his promise.

"Right." He scratched the back of his head, "they wouldn't tell me the day."

Tony clenched his jaw, "who wouldn't?"

Peter wasn't even looking at him anymore. Instead, he was fiddling with the bracelet, "the big guard guys, and the old guy. Mr Ross." He says slowly.

"Ross was here? When?"

Peter looked up, "a few times." Peter mumbled, "When am I getting out? Because he kept saying I wouldn't and-"

"You will." Tony interrupted, grabbing the bars. Something was badly wrong. "Peter, what did they do?"

Peter didn't want to tell him. Because he felt like only a child would complain if he did. _It was only a little water._ "Asked questions." It wasn't a total lie.

"And?" Tony disregards what he's just said immediately.

Peter shrugs, "I don't know."

Then a buzz interrupted their painful conversation, and both the glass and bars slide to one side. Tony immediately walked in, standing over Peter and sitting down next to him when he didn't budge.

"You _don't know_? Gimme something here, kid."

Peter was still staring at his wrists, his fingers going over the bracelet over and over again. Then he looked up, "This is a bad place." His voice was full of emotions, of pain, as were his eyes.

Tony pulled him in by the shoulders, letting his head rest on his own shoulder. "I know."

"Can we go?"

Tony wasn't even one-percent convinced that Peter was okay, but nodded. "Yeah, guess so."

FAKFKA

AKFAKFK

KAFAKAK

"Okay? Just listen to him for once. He does this for _you_." May scolded, looking at her nephew in nothing but worry and fear.

Peter sighed, "okay. Okay, May."

May smiled, pulling him in for the hundredth hug. "I love you so much."

He smiled back, closing his eyes and keeping his hold. Because he missed her a lot. And what if he couldn't have seen her ever again?

"Okay, big guy, I have to go talk to Tony, he said something about..." she shakes her head, "he says a lot of things."

Peter laughs, feeling her ruffle his hair and then leave. And then he starts coughing again, because he still hasn't seemed to stop.

Bruce looked up and frowned, "Peter, you've been coughing since you got here."

Peter looked back, "yeah, it was-it was cold there." It _was_. That was the only explanation he could think of. Why else?

Bruce was concerned, to stay the least, but he didn't express this. He didn't want to ask why Peter wasn't jumping around like a cat like usual, because he doesn't need to. He knows why.

"Are you sure you don't want to get checked out?"

"Yeah." Peter says quickly, leaning back against the sofa. He stared at the ceiling with no real thought in mind and then…and then he felt like he wasn't getting enough air. So he sat up again in a panic.

And of course, Bruce noticed…again. Peter could see that he did.

"What?" Peter asked, pretending like the last five seconds didn't just happen.

Bruce just looked in worry and sighed, "you're sure you're okay?"

He wasn't, but he couldn't say that. Five days wasn't that long. Water wasn't a big deal. He'd tell May eventually, he'd decided, but no one else.

* * *

He was hunched over, and there was a lot of arguing in the background. A _lot_. Then the doors swung open and he weakly looked up.

"Peter, anything? Did they give you anything?"

Peter looked at Tony, who is just so upset. So, _so_ upset. And worried out of his mind. It showed.

This wasn't a secret. Not worth dying over.

"They gave me this-this thing to make me…dizzy. I-I couldn't breathe properly."

"What was it?"

Peter brought up a hand to his chest, and Bruce got an oxygen mask ready.

Peter shrugged, "an injection, I don't-I don't know what." He said between breaths, and the oxygen mask was placed on him by Bruce.

Tony wasn't happy with the answer. It wasn't a lot to go on. "Anything else? What do you remember?"

He remembered everything, of course.

"Uh." He squinted, "they put-they put-" he had to try extra hard to breathe now. "Me underwater."

Tony nearly lost his balance. His teeth were grinding against each other, and he could feel his own eyes water.

Peter hated the reaction.

"You mean. Ah, Peter, they drowned you? _He_ drowned you? Is that what you're telling me?"

Peter wasn't sure what he could say that would be the right thing _to_ say. Tony sounded mad, and he should be. Peter should've told him. "I guess."

"Y-you guess?" His voice sounded hurt. "I asked you over and over, and you didn't-"

"Tony." Rhodey cut in, because this wasn't the time. Or the place.

"I didn't-I didn't want to tell-" he was breathing faster again, but he didn't need to finish his sentence. It's pretty self-explanatory.

Peter was also upset now, because it seemed that everything he was saying was just making Tony more upset.

"Why not? This was-you should've told me. Or your Aunt. Did you tell _her_? Did you tell May?"

Peter had tears in his eyes, "No. No, I just-he kept saying it's 'only a little water' and-" he sighed in frustration, "I just didn't want to tell anyone, okay? is that so bad?" His voice was muffled in the mask.

Tony exhaled, and now he felt bad. For standing here and looking down at Peter as if he was scolding him for doing something terrible, and it's really not. Because who did _he_ tell when all that stuff happened? No one. And he'd go crazy if someone made him feel like that was a bad thing.

"No." Tony said, "no, it's not." He ran a hand down his face and moved forwards, squeezing Peter's shoulder.

Peter crumbled in the hold, his head falling forwards against Tony's chest, who wrapped him into an embrace. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"Secondary drowning. Water in the lungs."

Tony squinted, "what?"

"Probably from the-" Helen pursed her lips, unsure of whether she should say it out loud, because it is a horrible thing to do to a anyone, let alone a fifteen year old. "-you know."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, now he is. You know, there are tells and signs, it's hard to miss."

"And if we did? Miss it?"

Helen stared, "uhh," her eyes narrowed, "death, probably." There _had_ to be a better way to say that. "But we caught it. And I've fixed him up." She said quickly and cheerily.

"Death." Tony repeated.

"Yes. This only happens in less than two percent of cases, and you know, trouble breathing, sleepiness, be glad that you caught it." She said. "I have to go."

"Right. Thanks."

"No problem."

May opened the door to Peter's room as soon as she left, closing it behind her carefully and looking at him with her perfected worried face. And Tony got ready, to face the anger she so clearly needed to express.

She smiled though, sadly.

"Listen." She sighed, "he doesn't tell me a lot. About what he does." She was clearly upset. "I don't know if he tells _you_ or-"

"He doesn't." Tony interrupted, wanting her to know that it wasn't like Peter trusted him more than his own aunt, which is how she might have felt.

May nodded, "well, I find out when it's bad. Like nightmares kinda bad, because then he _has_ to tell me. But this…" her face scrunched up, her eyes red and watery.

Tony looked down, "we'll help him."

"Of course we will. He would've been so scared and…" her sentence faded and she looked back at him. "I have to call someone."

"Who?"

"I'll be back" She said, rushing off.

Tony looked back at the room and squinted at the sight of the empty bed. He looked around and sighed a breath of relief when he saw Peter standing, facing the window.

He slowly opened the door and Peter glanced at him before looking back out.

"You okay to be up and running around already?"

Peter hung his head down, "I didn't actually get hurt. This was just…unfortunate." He said in a quiet tone.

Tony sighed, " _unfortunate_ , yeah, that's-that's one way to see it." He cleared his throat, "listen-"

"I really don't need to talk about it." Peter said, but it came out like a question.

Tony raised his brows, "sure? Coz it doesn't like you're sure."

Peter stiffened, "I just, look I don't need you to feel like you have to talk to me about whatever."

Tony cocked his head, "I don't feel like I need to, I _want_ to."

"No you don't." Peter frowned, turning to Tony for the first time since he'd walked in. "No one likes talking about things like this, it's awkward, and uncomfortable and…." Peter said quickly as matter-of-fact.

That was true. "I do. I think it's important to talk about things that are awkward." Tony said in his parent voice.

Peter shook his head, "no, Mr Stark, you don't. _You_ never do it."

Tony huffed, "That's-that's not true. I talk to…people that…" he made vague hand gestures and sighed, "you know-Pepper. There's Pepper." He mumbled, not making any sense.

Peter frowned in confusion, "see, you don't." He repeated for the third time, "And I understand it now. I get that. I get that hurting my arm isn't the same as…" he left it unsaid, throwing his hand up in the air rubbing his temple, "I don't want to talk about it, or think about it. Ever again."

"Yeah, well that's a perfect world, because that's not how things work."

"They could work."

"No they couldn't. You're fifteen. You get nightmares." Peter looked up at him in surprise, "You think this will just go away? You're wrong."

It came out harsher than he intended.

"Maybe."

" _Maybe_? Definitely."

"Like you said. It's how things work."

"That's not what I said."

Peter looked at Tony and moved forwards, startling Tony when he pulled him in for a hug. Tony reciprocated.

"Thank you. For helping me, even if you think it was your fault."

Tony smiled as they broke the hug, ruffling his hair. "You're a good kid."

* * *

I might continue this one as a separate story later on. Thank you for the reviews! Leave one if you get a chance!

This was for a prompt by nolovelosthere :)


	21. Chapter 21

The room is dimly lit, and Pepper runs a tired, defeated hand over here face in realisation once Tony pulls away from the computer with a look of heartbreak on his face.

Tony runs a hand over his face, "we'll find him," he manages to say, "they probably—they want money or maybe realised he wasn't worth the trouble and he's just camping out here somewhere or hiding," Tony says, listing all the possibilities that come to his head there and then.

"You don't know that. We don't know anything," May shakes her head, seconds away from completely losing it, "you can't know," she knows she's being too pessimistic, but she can't help it.

"That's the point, May, we wouldn't be here if we knew," he says, maybe a little too harshly, "I can _try_." He emphasises.

* * *

 **Three hours earlier**

"In the blizzard?"

Peter scoffs, "there's not gonna be a blizzard," he replies with confidence, eyes staring out the frosty window.

Ned makes a face, "the news begs to differ," he says, bringing up his phone and showing him the headline: BLIZZARD TO HIT NEW YORK _._

Peter squints, "they're wrong a lot," he shrugs, picking up a pencil uselessly when the teacher glances at them, "they say that like every year," and this year he hopes they're wrong, because as great as being half-Spider is, for some reason he really can't handle the cold the past year and a half.

"Okay, ten dollars says it'll happen," Ned replies, eyes widened and hand extended.

Peter looks down and huffs a laugh, then shakes the hand, "you're gonna lose."

"As MJ would say, 'I—"

"MJ's here, and she can speak for herself," MJ cuts in, eyes on her book which she reluctantly puts down as she mutters the last sentence, " I say you're both wasting your time."

"Yeah? _I_ say you're a buzzkill," Ned retorts, earning a glare from her.

The day goes slow. It's cold, it's frosty and everything is dull and grey. Granted, it's minus three and at four-pm, it looks like the day is all gone and all you want to do is be home and in bed.

It feels like an eternity has passed by the time he reaches his block, especially because the sun has already set and everything feels glum and dark.

He just really needs to get home, because every breath he takes is ice cold, and his nose and fingers are both starting to feel numb, and he doesn't think he's felt this cold before.

Taking solace in the fact that he is in fact nearly home, he takes out his earphones, which are also starting to feel uncomfortably and slightly painful.

A woman runs past him first, purse clutched and gasping a slight "run" as she heads straight towards Peter, who steps out a second before she can crash right into him.

Three more people run past, and he looks curiously ahead, dropping his backpack to his side and trying to find the source of panic.

Two steps in, five of six men dressed in all black and heavy-style gear start to walk towards him. He takes it as his queue to listen to his racing heart and get the hell out of there instead of swing around, mostly because he didn't have his suit or the time to get into his suit.

But they all have their weapons pointed, and he decides to run down, scooping his bag as he turns the corner, where there are several more waiting for him. He turns around helplessly and then looks up the wall. He can scale it—

Darts shoot at him, and at least his reflexes are hyped and working well enough to dodge them.

One of them isn't shooting, just staring until he finds the right stop, and he brings up the gun carefully, aiming at Peter's neck.

Peter dodges, and the dart fires somewhere else, apparently aimed perfectly to take everything into account including the dodge as so to hit him right in the neck.

He lets out a yell and grabs the dart with his fingers in a struggle as he slumps against the wall, eyeing the empty street for help.

He takes the risk now and shoots a web across the street on the wall, but something whips through the air in front of him just as he is less than quarter of a way through the air, cutting the web and throwing him harshly onto the middle of the road.

Everything blacks out a few seconds later.

* * *

"I'm trying. I'm trying to do it and I'm trying to find him, and you're all telling me things I don't care about—"

"The van was ditched two minutes ago," Rhodey walks in, phone in his hand, "a rental, but it was stolen yesterday."

"Right, so zero leads," Tony shrugs after listening intently, "nothing new, Ithis/I is what I'm talking about."

"112th street, near some park but there's no CCTV in the area, and there's a blizzard so no one was around either," Rhodey continues, ignoring Tony's comments.

"I'll check the park," Tony says, skipping the apology because hey, this is definitely something new, "you check abandoned buildings around the area, nearby CCTVs, whatever."

May sniffles and stands up, "I'll check shops," she says, or states, "I can do it."

Tony glances at her and nods, he doesn't need an another argument over something he knows she's capable of doing.

* * *

When his eyes flutter, it takes a real effort to open them, mostly because it feels like they've been glued shut.

His breathing is laboured, and he can see the fog forming in front of him every time he breathes, it's the only thing he can focus on - the heavy breaths and slowing thuds in his ears.

All he can see is blurred white in front of him - something standing out which he realises is his unmoving hand.

He's outside. He's outside, and it's snowing and he can't move.

Ned was right and he can't move.

He should go home. He ihas/i to go home. He can't stay here, it's way too dangerous.

The shivers are mild, and he settles on the fact that he's getting worse, not better, and is racking his brain trying to figure out where he is, or why he is here. All those questions aside, he knows he's been here awhile.

Maybe he lost his way. No, he's not that incompetent.

He won't be able to figure it out, because he can't find the energy to move himself, even though he should know that lying face down in snow isn't an ideal place to keep thinking about how much he wants to go to sleep right now.

But he does move - he scrunches up his first weakly, and even when he makes out his fingers moving, he finds that that's the extent. And then he feels his fingers twitch, and feels worse because he probably mistook that for movement.

* * *

"Everyone can—someone must've seen—it's the middle of the street!"

Tony runs a hand over his face, "we'll find him," he manages to say, "they probably—they want money or maybe realised he wasn't worth the trouble and he's just camping out here somewhere or hiding," Tony says, listing all the possibilities that come to his head there and then.

"You don't know that. We don't know anything," May shakes her head, seconds away from completely losing it, "you can't know," she knows she's being too pessimistic, but she can't help it.

"That's the point, May, we wouldn't be here if we knew," he says, maybe a little too harshly, "I can _try_." He emphasises.

Then they all get ready to go. Rhodey and Tony head out with their suits, and a car would take forty minutes to get there, so they also get one of the older suits to fly them to the area.

At one-hundred and fifty miles per hour, Tony is there, in the middle of the road, at the abandoned rental, in just under four minutes. He sees that the others have landed safely around the park too.

He clanks towards the van and and smashes a fist through the back doors, which flings down in seconds. It's a hasty decision, because he could tell even before he landed there was nothing and no one in the van, but call it a mix of paranoia and the fact that's it's Peter, so it can't hurt to double check.

"Fri," he mutters, and the HUD lights up, but with nothing important - nothing he can actually use or that will help him, which he was kind of counting on.

He looks to both sides of the park - decides to go with left first and flies upwards for a scan, and it takes a minute or so to properly scan the area, only because he has to be sure he doesn't miss anything, however small.

* * *

Peter manages to get up on his knees, about to topple over any second with the strong gusts of wind pushing him around.

Another pang of panic hits him when he looks up, because it's all white ground, and no one nearby — no houses, streets or cars to help him.

 _That's fine_ , his mind tells him, _everything is perfectly fine_ , _Peter,_ He's worrying for no reason, and there's no reason for worry.

He manages to stumble onto his feet, then reaches into his pockets for his phone, but his fingers suddenly don't coordinate and it's unusually impossible to stick his fingers into the pocket in the first place, let alone find a phone.

It quickly becomes a lost thought, who needs a phone anyway? Plenty can be done without one. He can take care of himself for one night without a phone.

He starts to walk - maybe he'll find someone to talk to. The thoughts are erratic, and he knows this every time one of the absurd ones springs to mind, but it only takes a millisecond for his mind to tell him that actually, he's making all the sense in the world.

Minutes in, or it could be hours, he finds himself going nowhere, the only thing that has changed is the fact that every inhale of cold air is starting to burn more and more up to the point that he is sure his lips, nose and throat are nonexistent.

It's better this way, because it doesn't hurt.

His legs give out soon after, and he topples back down onto his knees, then, as much he tries to steady his shaking self, he falls sideways into the blanket of snow that has been waiting to engulf him once again, eager to not let him go this time.

Strangely, it's not so cold anymore.

He could _really_ use some coffee right now.

* * *

"It's alright," a voice whispers in his ears, and he feels himself getting pulled and dragged until an arm is crossing his chest and tightly holding him in place, not that he is moving much anyway.

It doesn't make much of a difference to him, and he can't bring himself to care or focus on why this stranger is talking to him.

"Breathe," the voice tells him.

His finger jerks, "mmm—I—I—", if he could talk, he'd say that he was breathing just fine. And also that he was very confused right now. But he can't say any of that, because everything that comes out of his mouth is slurred, and he can't get past the first letter, let alone say a word.

His hands are then scooped up from his side and sandwiched between something that feels mildly, somewhat warm, but they are too numb to tell what it is.

"You'll be fine," this man won't stop talking, Peter's mind tells him, it also tells him that everything he is saying is useless and to ignore it.

Then the person starts to shift him around, and he makes out a flurry of blurred, bright lights in the distance.

He jerks, and gasps, then he jerks again. Then suddenly, all the white noise, the talking, the shouting that had started to echo and the crunching of boots is gone.

And all that is left is the thudding.

The lights are starting to disappear too. The lights he was looking for to save him are gone, and they'll never come back.

 _Thud, thud, thud—_

And his eyes feel heavy, like they've been yearning for sleep for the past decade.

 _Sleeping isn't a bad thing,_ he tells himself.

 _Thud. Thud_.

So he closes those eyes finally — lets himself rest, because sleeping is important and May never fails to tell him that every single night he comes home late.

 _Thud. Thud._

Sleeping means he's safe. And he definitely wants to feel safe.

* * *

May's scarf is so tightly wrapped around her neck that it's almost suffocating her, but she can't find the energy to untangle it all while he's right there, in front of her eyes. She just needs to know he's safe.

And Tony is still shivering and wet from the few minutes he spent knees-deep in the snow, holding onto Peter, watching his eyes close, then hear his heart gradually stop. He just needs to know he's okay.

They both stand, in front of Pepper and Rhodey, while the already overcrowded Emergency Room struggles to deal with all these casualties on a snowy night.

The ER is packed, and really loud. People are shouting random things into the air, and sometimes it's something important, and at other times it's someone complaining about a broken knee, and any of the four standing by Peter would love to tell them to shut up.

The lights are bright yellow, and at times, they flicker. It makes Tony feel nauseous, or maybe that's the combination of sickly smells lingering in the air.

Peter's skin is deathly pale, and his eyes are closed in a way that says they'll never open up again, but that's what doctors are for.

They watch, even though they've been pushed back and told not to come any closer. But they can still see, because privacy doesn't seem to be a big concern to anyone right now.

His heart won't restart, that much Tony can make out each time the doctor uses the defibrillator and gets a look of guilt and sadness from the others surrounding her.

The fourth time she tries, she steps back like the last three times, and everyone's eyes eagerly watch the monitor so that damn straight line can move and show that the boy in front of them is alive, but it doesn't.

The doctor goes again, even though whoever is assisting her tells her to stop. The fifth time doesn't work either, and this time the other person takes her hand to console her.

Everyone standing there has figured out what it means. It means they can't try again because Peter really is dead.

May starts to shake her head in disbelief as soon as they all quieten down - words stuck in her throat and tears about to fall any second, and it seems like she can't even open her mouth to cry.

"Time of death, twelve-seventeen am," the doctor says shakily, then looks hopelessly at the boy in front of her.

The lights flicker, and the doctor closes her eyes.

Tony suppresses a cough, because he's definitely going to throw up. He's going to Idie/I. He wants to die. He can't be here, he wants to go far away from this place and never come back.

"No. No, he's not— _try_ again!" May shouts, face scrunching up when she chokes a terrifying cry and covers her mouth with both hands.

But everyone has quietened down, and there's no more random medical words being thrown in the air or sense of panic anymore, because there's nothing to be panicking over. Peter is dead.

She looks at their faces and then steps in - they move back out of respect, and she looks over his face, so calm and peaceful. She can't help but feel somewhat responsible - she should've been there. He would've been so scared.

She puts a hand on his forehead, and he's definitely not Peter anymore, because he's colder than any normal person should ever be. Colder than Peter would ever be.

Tony stands frozen in his spot, unable to move or even breathe, until he finally brings his hand to the back of his neck and his breath starts to hitch. The day wasn't supposed to end like this.

12:17am.

Peter was supposed to come home.

Peter was supposed to be surprised at the surprise party May threw him a week early, because then he always figured it out.

He was supposed to be sleeping at home, not lying here.

Sleeping's always a good thing. He was supposed to be safe asleep, but no one told him he'd never wake up again.

* * *

Aaaah I killed him in this one for the first time sorry this was probably not what people wanted

I don't know if anyone here is also on AO3 because I posted this there too. Also, thank you for the newer reviews and lots of recent bookmarks? which is the reason I decided to post here again after that very long break


	22. I Love Them 3000

ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD! Don't read it if you haven't seen the movie yet because I kinda summarised the plot at one point, so beware, you've been warned! Other than that, here's another story because so many people still follow it and I feel bad for never updating. But on the plus side I have a few half-written so there's that!

* * *

"Yeah. Yeah, I know exactly what that is," Pepper says, eyes sadly staring at the hologram for a few seconds before she looks away, closing her eyes.

She's one of three people in the room, and the other two don't understand why she looks so upset, until Rhodey finally asks, "well, what is it?"

She doesn't answer straight away, just sighs with a flash of a smile that people give when they're trying to avoid actually looking sad. "Tony was—he was working on that in… _God_ —" she laughs humorlessly, "—years ago."

"How many years?"

"I don't—" she shrugs, "Morgan was…" she wanders off again as she thinks, "and there was New Years which he spent blowing fireworks in the garden," she laughs at the memory. "2021. January. I don't know what happened to it after that. He never talked about it again."

"This is bad."

"Tell me about it."

"But there's a fix. We still have a few of the tubes left," he says, looking to Pepper.

Peter watches as her face turns from confusion, to realization and finally to, what looks like, rejection. "No."

Rhodey sighs, leaning across the table, "Pep, we—"

"Who'll even go? I can't risk anything going wrong, you are about to start a family, I'm not—this isn't a discussion. If Tony was here, he'd agree," she says.

"I can go," Peter offers. She didn't say his name. "And if Mr Stark was here, this wouldn't even be happening."

Her face says otherwise, because she glares at him like he's crazy. "You're not going anywhere."

Peter protests, scoffing lightly and leaning forwards, "I can do it. Mr Rhodes said it wasn't even that hard. It's literally a button."

"Yeah, and what happens next? You come out and you're seventy? I'm not putting May through that, I'm not putting _myself_ through that," she says, clear-cut and shutting him out.

Peter shakes his head, "please. Let me do this. I know I can do it. It's not like I'll stay there for the rest of my life."

"I don't care what you can do. It's not up for discussion," she dismisses like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

He still doesn't give up. "It's not dangerous. Pretty sure everyone here's had their turn at doing it."

"It's not pass the parcel, Peter. You're gonna go back to a time where there wasn't another you there," she says, "and what if you feel like not leaving?"

"I'll be back in five seconds."

"I want _you_ back in five seconds, not—not a twenty-five year old or—or worse."

"Worse than a twenty-five year old?"

She shoots him a glare, "I'm not joking, Peter."

"Sorry, neither am I. But I can do this."

"That includes talking to—" she doesn't say his name, "—you can't do anything to change it."

"Well," Rhodey interjects, "it's not like he'll be changing anything _here_."

Pepper shoots him a look, "I'm seriously not the only person who disagrees," she says incredulously.

Rhodey narrows his eyes, "even if he does change something, which I don't recommend, it's not gonna change our future. If he helps—"

"He can mess up another timeline."

"No, he can _help_. Look, Tony does all the—" he throws his hands in the air to mimic an explosion, "—time travelly stuff after Scott comes back in 2023. If Peter's there to tell him to do it before, he can still do it. Bring Scott back earlier. Don't send Nebula up there. It works out."

" _Or_ we can leave things alone and just—"

"Pepper," Rhodey interrupts, "there's another you living with him in the past and that Pepper is just as human as you are. Why not kill two birds with one stone?"

She looks at him hesitantly, "I know there's another me. That's the point because that's past _us_. We lost him, and I know it hurt, but I don't want to meddle in things and get even more people killed. Because _I'm_ there. All of _us..._ are there. _You_ -" she points to Peter, "-exist because he doesn't. How do we know what you say won't change things?"

Rhodey sighs, "isn't that the point, though? We don't know."

"Which is why we shouldn't."

"It's one timeline," Rhodey says, shrugging, "I don't think what we do in it or don't do in it is going to be significantly impactful on anyone."

Pepper turns to Peter, "you go. You just don't meddle. You come right back and never talk to anyone."

Rhodey doesn't say anything, just keeps his head down. "Sounds about right."

* * *

He gets a strange feeling in his chest, almost the same as he does when he that nightmare. He hasn't seen Mr Stark in five years, and he wonders whether the fight even counts, because it really shouldn't. They didn't get a chance to talk or meet. And that's ten years since they had an actual conversation.

"—that hard. The brush is literally for that purpose, Tony."

"And I used the brush."

Pepper lifts a baby bottle in the air, raising her brows, "see those stains? You didn't use the brush," she says, placing it back into the sink. She shakes her head, walking off as Tony follows.

"Pep, babies have strong immune systems!" He calls, and their voices jumble into one as they disappear up the stairs.

He waits until he can't hear anyone, and then steps out, looking around the room. The things are all the same, even the holotable, which sits proudly in the middle of the room by the sofa.

It's Friday he has to worry about, but she doesn't seem to mind him wandering around the house like a total creepy stranger.

He says the code he's memorized a bajillion times in his head aloud, albeit quietly, and the specs open up. He reaches to swipe through. His heart races like he's doing something completely wrong. Which arguably, he is. He's breaking into someone's home.

"Step away, Danny Ocean," a voice says from behind, and he freezes. Mr Stark, who, according to Pepper, is supposed to be very, very much asleep or arguing upstairs right now. "Quickly," he says coldly, "I got a kid in here. Won't hesitate to shoot."

He'd talk, but he knows, even though he might not be ruining his own future, he's ruining one of them, somewhere. He reaches for the bracelet to zap back to his time, and finds both hands quickly restrained by two very strong metal hands.

Tony steps around the table, frowning and doing a serious double-take as he stares. The flying metal hands keep their grip, and Peter can't keep a straight face looking at his mentor so close, after so long.

"Hey, Mr Stark," he says.

Mr Stark squints, as if he can't believe his eyes, which is a fair assessment. "Who—where are you from?" He asks, coming closer and closer until he's standing a few feet apart. "Who are you?"

"Peter," he smiles for a second, "not from here," he answers, "wanna, uh—" he gestures to his wrists with his head, "let me go?"

"Sick joke, buddy," Tony says, trying to keep a straight face, "ever think you could use all the brains for something good instead of trying scare people?" He asks, observing his face closely. "You don't even look like him. Bad paint job."

Peter breathes in, "I'm-I'm from a few years in the future. I look older, not different."

"Right," Tony says, making it clear he doesn't believe him. "For the next time, I recommend a better cover story. But there's gonna be no next time, you're going to jail."

"Mr Stark, wait!" Peter shouts when he sees Tony actually turn, "wait! It's me! I'm-uh-" his brain blanks. "I was up there with you. On Titan. Red dust and crazy people, Doctor Strange, that-that lady with those antennas-" he moves his fingers to mimick them, "-and then I-you were holding me. When I was-I said I didn't feel good. You were there. And then you weren't."

Tony doesn't say anything, but the wrists are released. "You're alive."

"Yeah—" he doesn't finish his sentence before he's pulled into a tight hug, which he returns happily, burying his face.

"So, so—time travel?" Mr Stark asks, scoffing, scratching the back of his head. "That's—not possible. It's not—what's—" he looks to the holotable, tilting his head.

"You're here for Thanos?" He asks, unconvinced, because the hologram has nothing to do with that big Purple Guy who must not be named.

Peter shakes his head, "no. No, for this."

"Why—" he stops, realization dawning on his face as he sighs shakily, "where am I a few years from now?"

He can't answer that. He doesn't want to answer that, so he shrugs. "All the timelines I travel back to, it creates an alternative one. Anything I do here won't change my future."

"And what's _your_ future? You look good."

"It would be your future too, but I'm back here and I already changed it, so yours will be different now," he tries to explain, sighing as he looks at Mr Stark try and understand what he's saying.

Tony narrows his eyes as he studies the hologram, "who sent you back?"

"Pepper," he says without a beat, "she sent me. I mean she didn't want to because she was scared I wouldn't—she—"

Thankfully, Mr Stark misses the 'wouldn't' and gives him a big smile, "Pepper? She's—she's with me? She's doing all this."

It breaks his heart. "Uh huh, yeah, her and—and everyone else." God it's hard not to point that out. "Someone found it and you deleted the prototype so I came to get it."

His smile falters, and he puts his head down, and that's when the real realization hits, Peter sees, because he clenches his jaw shut. He just messed everything up.

"You're not excited to see past me," Mr Stark says, "you're excited to see _me_ ," he looks to Peter, maybe expecting him to say otherwise, and he nods, smiling sadly when he doesn't.

Peter sighs shakily, "we all miss you. So much—I mean, there's—" he turns frenziedly, waving his hands in the air, "—huge posters of you and—and graffiti like everywhere—" he stops when he sees Tony's smile fade.

"Pep. Morgan. What about them?"

"She grew up with everyone telling her how awesome you were so," he shrugs, and he has on what else to say next, "and Pepper uses Rescue now and people are like 'she's Iron Woman' and I mean she hasn't really got one name, she's got loads—but she only uses it in like emergencies. Or when she's helping me. And she's still CEO of Stark Industries. She's pretty cool."

"Yeah," Tony nods, smiling at Peter again, looking him up and down. He pulls in for another hug, and Peter relishes in it, closing his eyes and tightening his hold. "You're great. You all sound…great."

"The team? What about them?"

He opens his mouth to say 'nothing', but realizes that their 'nothings' mean completely different things. "Cap—Captain America's like ninety," he laughs.

"I know."

"No, like literally. He—" he censors himself again, "lived out his life in the past and he came back as this real old man that gives like big pep talks and speeches that we had to listen to in school," he says with a smile.

Tony seems fazed by it. "He did that."

"Yeah. Everyone else's pretty much the same." He leaves out the fact that there's no 'Avengers' anymore, or that Black Widow is also long gone with Tony.

"And we all miss you," he adds, looking to the holotable, "she kept everything the same. Morgan plays around with it, and—and we tell her stories—me, Mr Rhodes and Happy, I mean. And like she's ten now, so she spends a lot of time searching you on Google and you know, she finds some things and we gotta tell her what actually happened and not the story they wrote—"

He stops when he sees Tony smile at him in amazement.

Peter smiles back, "you get the point. And Pepper's gonna be so mad I even talked to you."

"Is that why she wouldn't send you?"

He cowers a little, "yeah. She indirectly said she didn't want me having any crazy ideas to stay, because—" he shrugs, "—I mean, I _could_. Me here doesn't even exist, and I could help you for a few years and make sure you—" he purses his lips.

"You know I'd take you up on the offer, but if this is the hill I—"

"Don't say it. Don't—don't say that. It doesn't have to be, Mr Stark, I know what happens to you in my future, but you can change that."

Tony scoffs, though not unkindly, looking across the room as he squints, "time travel doesn't even exist here yet, but I still know the one thing you're not supposed to do is go to the past to mess everything up," he looks up and softens, "you didn't though, and that's what I'm—"

"Mr Rogers spent fifty years living in it, you think he didn't do _anything_ that could've affected some alternate future somewhere?"

"Kid—"

"Okay. Put it into perspective. In one timeline, you literally left Loki with the Tesseract."

Tony doesn't seem convinced. Just confused and maybe a little disbelieving.

"Mr Stark. Pepper brings you up in every single interview and conversation we have, and Morgan's growing up never knowing you. Just your holograms and stories that iwe told her," he raises his brows; watches as he succeeds in his mission to upset Tony to the point of listening to him. "And me. Who you left after seeing for literally five seconds after—" he stops.

"Should've led with that," he says, pointing a quick finger to him as they both turn their heads up the stairs when they hear footsteps. They listen a little more, and Tony waves his hand, "we're in the clear.

"It's Morgan—well, you're in the clear, I'm in trouble," he says, making a face and heading to the stairs, shouting "I'll be right—"

"Don't bother!" Pepper calls tiredly.

He looks back to Peter, "you'd love—you've met her. You've met her," he pauses, "you'd love baby Morgan," he says proudly. Then he sighs, "okay. Alright. You're gonna tell me everything, then you're going back."

Peter deflates, "what? No, I can—"

"You heard the boss lady—" he points upstairs, "—the rules were no talking and no staying, and you already _majorly_ screwed up the first thing."

"It's just two years—"

"Two years," he huffs a laugh in disbelief, "-that I will see to when you're long gone in a few minutes."

"Mr Stark, no!"

"Peter."

He's in disbelief. "I don't wanna go back there."

"You gotta," Mr Stark answers softly, "'coz my Peter's still trapped somewhere and as much as I'd love two of you here—" he shrugs and inhales, "—there's a life out there. iYour life. Pepper. May. Your friends. Look at you, you're all grown up," he says with a proud smile.

"Alright," Peter says, half-convinced.

Tony nods, opening a drawer from under the table and taking a slim USB out and plugging it into the side, "hit me," he says as he drags the work into a folder. "What happens?"

He guesses he should start with Scott, which is what he does. And it's easily explainable.

"Inverted Mobius strip," Tony repeats after Peter, cutting him off in the middle as he looks into the distant, lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah. So you solved it. You made these weird white and red suits to go back to get the stones. But you can't send Nebula to Morag—"

To where?"

"You should write this down," Peter says, concerned.

Tony raises his brows, "Friday, you caught all that right?"

"R _ight up to 'you should write this down'_ ," Friday repeats a recording of him speaking, and Peter chuckles.

"Yeah, Morag. That's where the Power Stone is. But you can't send her there."

"What? She switch sides?"

"No. Thanos finds her and he finds out all about your plan. It's why he comes to Earth and—he tries again."

"But I win," Tony points out jokingly.

Peter nods, clenching his jaw, "uh huh."

"It's okay," Tony tells him assuringly when he sees him.

It's not okay. He doesn't even know what happened. "Yeah. So don't send her. Send someone else. Maybe that buys you time or maybe he never comes down. Hopefully it's the second one."

"That sounds do-able," Tony says.

Then he closes his eyes for a second, "but you need the Soul stone."

Tony waits for him to continue.

"It's a soul for a soul."

He frowns. "That's—okay. Who—how did we—"

"Clint Barton went with Natasha Romanoff."

"Clint?" He asks, surprised. "Clint comes back?"

"Natasha got him back. But they went together, and—they fought. She died."

Tony gives a slight shake of the head, as if he doesn't believe it. "So someone dies."

"It's—it has to be someone you love. Or it doesn't work."

It seems to be a gamechanger for Tony, because he's suddenly twitchy and uncomfortable with the conversation. "Someone's definitely going to die."

"Mr Stark—"

"I can't ask—who—"

"Pretty much everyone. They all would've done it."

He takes the USB out, holding it in his hands for a few seconds before turning and handing it over to Peter, who takes it reluctantly.

"Did they know? When they went? Is that why the two of them went to get it and no one else?"

"No," Peter says, sighing, "no, they found out when they got there. I know this is a lot. And you—all of you need time to think it over. But—"

"What happens after that?"

"You get the stones. The Hulk snaps everyone back and nearly loses his arm, but Thanos knows all that because of Nebula, so he comes from 2014 to do it again. Everyone's there to try to stop him and get rid of the gauntlet, even Pepper, and—it doesn't work. He gets it, and—and he's about to snap and then you go in to take it off him."

There's a pause.

"We thought you failed. But Thanos snaps and nothing happens. And you're all like 'I am Iron Man'—" he says in a sudden burst of excitement, "—and you snap. They all go and—you—you're—" he vaguely waves to his face, "—all just—you didn't even say anything—"

Tony doesn't let him finish, although he doesn't think he could've finished anyway. He gently pushes Peter backwards until they hit a chair, and he pushes him down, kneeling down in front of him as he tries to breathe again.

"Whatever I did, I _chose_ to do."

Peter shakes his head, "yeah, yeah, I know," his voice his raspy and cracking.

"Do you?"

Peter looks up quickly. "I can stay."

"But you can't," Tony says simply, leaning forwards and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I can handle this."

"What if I messed this up? Doctor Strange said there was one way, what if—"

"I'll handle it. Besides, I still got two years before it's meant to happen to think it over."

Peter runs a hand over his face. "I miss you."

"And I miss you," Tony says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and Peter swears he sees tears in his eyes. "Everyday."

"I don't-"

Tony smiles, "I wouldn't either. Perfect world here, right? But you got one just as perfect. One which I'd _like_ to think that I wanted you to live in," he says softly, like he's talking to a young child. "You turned out perfect."

Peter reaches forwards and pulls Tony in for a tight hug. He won't get to ever again. They stay that way for a long moment, before Tony pulls away.

"You take care of yourself, and my other kid," he says with his signature smirk, "and tell Pep…" he trails off, trying to think, "I love them 3000."

Peter smiles back.

And he doesn't realize that it's Mr Stark who is holding his wrist and pressing it as soon as he finishes talking, before Peter can think of another excuse to prolong his stay.

* * *

it could've been edited better, but it's here? Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews and messages even when I don't update at like months at a time

I kinda flopped at taking requests after my one-year break. But if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

and AO3 username is Catzzy for those who were asking :)


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